A Number of Complications
by AnnieInWonderland07
Summary: AU. Konohagakure is a country that houses some of the most elite families in all of the world. If there is one school the children go to, that is Konoha Gakuen. Fame, power and money equals a simple life? No way. Eight sixteen-year-olds, seven prestigious families, one school, five rivalries, one love. Welcome to Konoha Gakuen. Welcome to hell. (Multiple pairings inside)
1. Chapter 1 - Degrees of Separation

**I'm crazy for making a new fan fic with all others pending, but I can't help it. An online buddy requested that I make the fic and she's gonna send me some goodies in exchange. Yes, I accept bribes to make some of your dreams come true. *evil grin***

**So, this is my take of your favorite shinobi in high school. Although, not all of them are included in this story as main characters. Some might just appear as "sides". **

**_Full Summary: Konohagakure is a country that houses some of the most elite families in all of the world. If there is one school they go to, that is Konoha Gakuen, owned by the famous Senju clan. But even with the glitz and glamour of the privileged life, this is where we find out that the more money you have, the messier life can become._**

**_Sixteen-year-olds, seven prestigious families, one school, five rivalries, one love. Welcome to Konoha Gakuen. Welcome to hell._**

**_Pairings: Sasuke x Sakura; Naruto x Hinata; Kiba x Ino; Neji x Ten-ten (everyone is a main pairing, but won't allow more than two couples in the character selection, so I'll just write them down here)  
_**

**_Side Pairings: Sasuke x Hinata; Naruto x Sakura; Shikamaru x Ino; Shikamaru x Temari; Neji x Temari (won't include the grown-ups)_**

**A Number of Complications**

**_A multiple-pairing fan fic_**

**Chapter 1**

Degrees of Separation

"For the sake of the new students, try to introduce yourselves and your background," Hatake Kakashi said out of boredom.

In other schools, old students don't introduce themselves to transferees. The newbies just have to find out for themselves. But in Konoha Gakuen, where the elite of the elite go to school, they have to save the new rich kids the bother of knowing them. Because each one decides for themselves if they want to get to know you better.

It would be safe to say that everyone is on equal footing here because you can't enroll in Konoha Gakuen without a massive donation and an equally massive tuition fee. But there are just some students who are out of this world when it comes to gifts and treasures.

_My turn. I hate this. _

"Ohayou, my name is Haruno Sakura," the pink-haired girl said, her usual confidence faltering for reasons known but will remain unstated until later in this story. "I'm 16 years old and I live nearby," this warranted a small wave of laughter from her classmates, who knew where she lived, "Background is… well, my mother was a Senju and I am the granddaughter of the owners of this school," she didn't like saying this, but they always had to. As if they wanted to be sold to the highest bidder or something, "I'm their only grandchild, making it kind of boring. Aside from the school, we also have holdings in the medical industry here in Konohagakure. And, my hobbies include playing trivia games and reading medical books. My favorite word is 'courage'."

Haruno Sakura abruptly sat down, feeling her lungs being worked overtime. Her emerald eyes were fixed upon five people who were standing in front of them – the transferees. She felt as if she wasted her breath because one particular person whom she wanted to catch the attention of with her speech had barely even glanced at her. He seemed to be whispering urgently to the lavender-eyed beauty who was standing beside him. She was successful, however, in catching the attention of the blonde boy standing next to another lavender-eyed boy. He was grinning at her as if he had known her forever.

"My name is Sabaku Tenshi," a flat voice came out of nowhere. Sakura turned. _Ten-ten. _The usually cheerful girl looked angry. Her brown eyes pierced at the people standing in front, looking as if she intended to murder them. Sakura sweat-dropped. She didn't know why Ten-ten was acting so strangely. "I don't know why I should introduce myself since I know who these people are, but sure…"

"Ten-ten-san," Kakashi said, a warning in his voice.

Ten-ten rolled her eyes. "My parents are Sabaku Hoshimaru and Sabaku Karura. I am the youngest daughter of the four sibilings. My family has various shipping lines and is involved with the agriculture and appliance industry. That is, until they were bought by the Hyuuga company. Now, we work for them. _Merger, _they said," she said that with venom in her voice. This statement elicited a small gasp from the lavender-eyed girl who was in front and the boy, whom Sakura could only say was her twin, frowned deeply at her. "I kinda like fortune-telling and solving a little mystery now and then. I don't like pickled plums but I love Chinese food."

She sat down as abruptly as she stood up, eyes forward and never bothering to even give a friendly smile to the newcomers. This didn't affect others however, aside from the lavender-eyed twins that Sakura observed a while ago.

"Hi," an airy voice said from the back. It was Sakura's best friend, one of the most popular girls in school, _hell, _in all of Konohagakure. "I'm Yamanaka Ino. I came from the Yamanaka clan, experts in flower arrangements and the flower trade in general. We also have amusement and sports parks across the country as a side-line. In my own right, I'm an actress, so perhaps you already know me." With that, she flipped her blonde hair, causing Sakura to roll her eyes in exasperation. "I love shopping, cherry tomatoes, and pudding. I hate sashimi and people who pretend to be who they're not."

"Hai, hai," Kakashi said, finally ending the class introductions. "Now it's time to get to know our new students. If you will…"

Sakura grimaced. _Everyone _knows who these students were. Some of them might not have lived in Konoha for a while, but this was what Sakura meant by being better than even the others who were already rich. These people in front of them were sort of royalty in some way. Now, with their arrival, they have already disturbed the delicate internal balances of Konoha Gakuen. They almost caused a riot in the school when they arrived at the gates.

The miracle that led them to the classroom safely was an army of guards and escorts that made everyone's chances of even getting a small peek at them futile.

But Sakura, being the granddaughter of Jiraiya and Tsunade, knew they were coming. And she was nervous as hell for another reason entirely.

The lavender-eyed boy came up first. "Good morning," his voice was well-modulated and even with the politeness of his phrasing, Sakura could hear the arrogance in his tone. The boy had dark brown hair, eyes that were so light that it was almost white, a permanent frown on his face, and a graceful stance that befitted nobles. "My name is Hyuuga Neji, heir of the Hyuuga group of companies, owners of hotel chains, cellular companies and technological facilities. I like to be realistic and practical when it comes to things in general. I don't like spicy food and I despise idiots, bullies and people who hurt my family."

When he said the last part, he stared pointedly at Ten-ten, who openly glared back.

The introduction was short and just what Sakura expected from her first impression of Hyuuga Neji.

Hyuuga Neji was renowned as a genius. In the circle of people-you-have-to-know, the Hyuugas were a noble clan who branched out to various businesses. They were listed as one of the top three richest families in Konoha and they have stayed there for decades. Its current head, Hyuuga Hiashi, was known to be very strict in controlling both his public and private life. One could understand why Neji was who he was.

Beside him stood a beautiful young woman. Her hair was dark blue and fell to her back. She had the same eyes as Neji, but she seemed gentler and less cocky. She smiled a soft and shy smile and when she spoke, her voice sounded like wind chimes in the summer. "Good morning," she said, eyes almost flitting to the ground now and then. "My name is Hyuuga Hinata. I am 16 years old and Neji-nii-san is my older twin. I love the color lavender and my hobby is pressing flowers. My favorite word is 'self-confidence' and I look forward to being good friends with you all."

Her beauty and her sweet demeanor seemed to earn the interest of the boys in the class. The fact that she had a drop-dead gorgeous body with big breasts didn't disappoint the male populace either. A couple of guys were openly gaping at her and some wanted to ask questions, much to Kakashi's chagrin. Their adviser asked the boys to settle down and Sakura almost laughed as she saw the obvious threat in Neji's face. But it wasn't until she spotted the murderous gaze of the black-haired boy beside Hinata that she was forced to bite her cheek and look down on her hands sadly.

_There's something there._

She thought that it was _his _turn at last, before the spotlight was suddenly snatched by a blonde boy. He seemed to be the loudest of the group and it would be safe to say that everyone was both awed and intimidated by him. Why? Well… if you consider the other transferees as nobility, this young man was the noblest of them all.

"Yo!" he said enthusiastically. His spiky blonde hair was so strange in so many ways that one cannot help but stare at it. "I'm Namikaze-Uzumaki Naruto," this sent a new wave of murmurs from the class, "Ignore the fact that my dad is the Prime Minister and that my mom's a princess. So, I'm just a good guy who likes ramen and these people," he gestured towards his companions, "who are my friends since childhood. "I stick to promises and I never back down from a challenge. And right now, that challenge is to make Haruno Sakura-chan fall in love with me."

_WHAT?!_

Sakura almost fell from her seat as laughter exploded in the classroom. Namikaze-Uzumaki Naruto, son of Namikaze Minato (Prime Minister of Konohagakure) and Namikaze-Uzumaki Kushina (one of the two children of the Emperor of Konohagakure), just told everyone that he liked Haruno Sakura. She could feel the blush creeping up to the roots of her hair, clashing horribly with the already pink state that they were in.

"You're so lucky, Sakura-chan!" a girl named Hino said from in front of her. "The prince of Konoha likes you!"

Sakura only smiled. She didn't want Naruto's attention. She wanted –

"Uchiha Sasuke," a cutting deep voice said, hypnotizing every female in the room. "I'm the youngest child of Uchiha Fugaku and Uchiha Mikoto. I have an older brother, Itachi, and he's married to the older sister of this idiot," he said, referring to Naruto who aimed a punch at him. "I also have a younger brother, who's in a lower year, Uchiha Sai. I don't particularly like anything aside from taking walks and tomatoes. I like the word 'power'. Most of all, I hate loudmouths, screaming girls, and pointless tasks."

Sakura knew perfectly well who _this guy _was. He might not remember her, but she always did. She always remembered him. For the past years that he was gone, she remembered him. Sasuke was Sakura's classmate when they were in grade school. She had a crush on him ever since, developing into some kind of love that she could never fathom the source of. He suddenly transferred during their middle school for reasons unknown to her. All she knew was that he went to an exclusive school in Kumogakure, a neighboring nation.

And it seemed that his devilishly handsome looks have improved over time. The silent and cool type seemed to have won the other girls in the class over. Yet again, Sasuke was the apple of the girls' eyes. This seemed to irritate him, as he garnered as much attention as Hinata had when she introduced herself, forcing Kakashi to calm everyone down once again.

The last person – another celebrity. This young man beat Ino's popularity by miles. And from what Sakura could remember, Ino wanted to work with him. He had spiky brown hair, a slight tan, and identical red tattoos under his eyes that made him look strangely attractive. His grin was cocky and this made the girls swoon. "I'm Inuzuka Kiba. My mother is Inuzuka Tsume, a famous director and my sister is Inuzuka Hana, a fashion designer. Basically, I don't belong in this group," he pointed to the people he was with, "just so happens that I'm a transferee like them. And I don't come from old money. My family's pretty new in this rich business. I'm also self-made and for reasons you all know why."

Yes. They all know. Kiba was the most popular idol in Konoha. He was a fashion model, actor, and rock star. Even Ino, who was already a shining celebrity of her own right, was awed by him. He was talented alright.

"I like taking walks with my dog, Akamaru," he continued. "I like playing instruments and practicing. I like beef jerky… and uh, I don't sign autographs when I'm in school."

This earned a flurry of ill-disguised disappointment from the girls.

"So that's it," Kakashi said, obviously relieved by the ending of the introductions. Even though Konoha Gakuen housed the children of prestigious families, the transferees were of an entirely new level of popularity. This would be more troublesome than expected and he, Kakashi Hatake, was given the 'honorary' and equally burdensome title of being their adviser.

Not that he couldn't live up to expectations. He was considered a genius by his peers and students. It was just that his brilliance was often eclipsed by laziness.

"I'll now assign you to your seat," Kakashi added. "Kiba-kun, you can sit to Ino-chan's right."

Kiba almost blurted out the word, 'perfect', but stopped himself. He didn't give himself a complete makeover and get this popular for nothing. All of what he achieved was for destroying one particular girl. And now, he had the pleasure to say that said self-absorbed person didn't even recognize him as he walked in the door and introduced himself.

_Yamanaka Ino. _He smirked as he observed that she was blushing hotly from being assigned as his seat mate. _First stage complete._

He took the seat as casually as possible, not even fazed by the fact that he was seated beside a famous actress that was almost of the same caliber as he was.

"Hinata-chan," Kakashi then said, "You can sit in front of Ino-chan."

"H-hai, sensei," Hinata replied, taking the seat in front of the blonde.

"Hi, I'm Ino," Ino said, whispering at Hinata's back and smiling broadly.

Hinata's cheeks turned pink. No one ever talked to her before of their own free will. Often, girls didn't like her because she grabbed all the attention for her status. But this girl, Ino, seemed nice. "I'm Hinata," she responded, smiling back.

"Naruto-kun. Take the seat on Hinata's left."

"E-eh?!" Naruto said, frowning. "I wanna be beside Sakura-chan!"

Sakura blanched. The blonde wasn't even contented that he already got the seat behind her and he had to go as far as to ask for the vacant seat beside her.

Kakashi merely sighed and waved his hand, saying that Naruto should stop complaining and that he should sit. It was like their teacher to be unfazed that he was commanding the person who could possibly be the next Emperor of Konohagakure.

Naruto grudgingly accepted his fate, sitting beside a slightly tearful Hinata. Neji wanted to pummel the idiot for hurting Hinata's feelings. Only he knew that his twin was madly in love with Namikaze Naruto. He promised to keep it a secret though, and with Hinata's shyness, it was unclear if she would ever confess.

And there was also the issue that she was already promised to someone else.

"Neji-kun. Take the seat in front of Ten-ten," Kakashi commanded, knowing that he'll be met with a complaint so he made his voice more assertive.

Fortunately, Neji didn't complain. As long as he was seated. He'll excel in anything anyway, and Sabaku be damned.

"That leaves Sasuke-kun," Kakashi said. "Please sit beside Sakura-chan."

To the teacher's surprise, Uchiha Sasuke didn't move.

"What's wrong this time?" Kakashi all but grumbled.

"I want to exchange seats with Naruto," Sasuke said.

"And why is that?" Kakashi said, with a 'humor-me' tone.

"Because Naruto clearly wants to be beside Haruno," Sasuke said. "You'll never hear the end of it, sensei. And," with this, it was clear what he was going to say because Hinata now turned brick red, "Hinata is engaged to me. I need to sit beside her."

This effectively shot down all arguments from Kakashi. He merely nodded. This earned him a whoop from Naruto, who happily took Sasuke's seat.

When Sasuke finally sat beside Hinata, the dark-haired girl whispered to him, "I-Is that really necessary, Sasuke-kun?"

Sasuke gave her a sideways smile so that only she could see. "Well, it's true. I promised your father that I would look after you. And this will save us from all the trouble we experienced before."

Hinata sighed. It was true. She and Sasuke have similar reasons why they went outside of Konohagakure to study. However, she wondered if Sasuke already noticed that she was in love with someone else. It would have seemed obvious by the way her eyes glazed over when Kakashi-sensei said that Naruto would sit beside her. But, she knew that getting along with him in a romantic way was impossible…

Sakura could barely believe her ears. _Sasuke-kun's engaged? To Hyuuga Hinata?_

She stopped her heart from pounding and she barely had the strength to actually stop herself from crying. It seemed lame, but she had been pining for Sasuke for years now. And they were never really even friends in the first place. All these years of waiting for him, and now she found out that he was engaged.

Sakura never even knew of Hinata's existence. All she knew was that the Hyuuga family had three children. Neji and two girls. She had met Neji before, but the two girls were a complete mystery to her. Her grandmother told her that the two were homeschooled. But from what she could see, it seemed that the Sasuke and Hinata already knew each other very well. She could even hear their conversation.

She had never heard or seen Sasuke act that way towards any girl.

_That's why I already told you to give up on him, _another part of her mused. _It's obvious that Sasuke doesn't go for girls who are too interested in him. And damn girl, your interest is bordering on freaky._

"I am not freaky!" she said, oblivious to the fact that she said the statement aloud.

"Of course you're not, Sakura-chan," Naruto said from beside her, amused at the sudden outburst of his seatmate.

"A-ah," Sakura said, embarrassed beyond words. "S-sorry, Your Highness."

"_Your Highness?" _Naruto repeated. "Seriously? No one's called me that in years! Well, I haven't visited my mom's household in years, so no one's ever called me that. It's freaky, the real definition of freaky."

Sakura sighed and mentally slapped himself. "Sorry."

"You can just call me Naruto. That'll be better."

"Naruto," Sakura said, smiling at the blonde. He was nice. He wasn't snobbish at all and that wasn't what you usually expected from a prince.

"So, your grandparents own this joint," Naruto said, with Sakura almost cringing at the way he talked. It seemed that Namikaze Naruto talked more like a gangster than royalty. _Where did he learn to talk like that?_

"Yes," Sakura replied.

"Then you'll be the best person to give me a tour later at lunch!" Naruto said excitedly. "Can you?"

Sakura grinned. Like it or not, Naruto had a very contagious aura about him. You just can't help but like him, even with all his odd tendencies. "Sure. But is it okay if Ino comes with us? She's my best friend and she always has lunch with me."

"Of course," he responded. "I'm not too sure if my friends will come with us, though. Neji, Sasuke, and Hinata always have somewhere fancy to go to at lunch. They're not allowed to eat at school. Well, neither am I, but I always break rules."

"Obviously," she said with a giggle. "But where do you want to have lunch?"

Naruto turned pink. "W-well, I actually have a cup of ramen with me. And I wanted to try the ramen here at school."

"You actually like that sort of stuff huh?" Sakura said with a grimace. "I don't eat stuff with loads of preservatives in them. You'll die early."

"Then that'd be better!" Naruto said, laughing loudly.

"Oy you two, shut up. The teacher's actually giving out a lecture," Sasuke said from behind Sakura, causing the pink-haired kunoichi to redden.

"You shut up, teme," Naruto retorted.

"G-guys, please," Hinata said. "Stop fighting. It's our first day."

"Yes and if you ruin Hinata's day, I'll make yours a living hell, Naruto," Neji snapped, causing Naruto to grumble and cross his hands against his chest.

"I swear, these two Hinata watchdogs always suck the fun out of my life," Naruto mumbled angrily. Sakura almost felt sorry for the lavender-eyed girl who seemed to be on the verge of tears, staring at the back of Naruto's head in an odd way.

_N-no way! That Hyuuga girl likes…?_

It was strange that this heiress didn't like Sasuke. Then again, it might be one of the reasons why Sasuke was close to her. She might be the only girl with whom he could interact normally with.

_Now this is a very complicated situation._

Neji wanted to pummel Naruto so badly that his hands itched. What's more, he could feel the back of his head burning from the glare Sabaku Tenshi (Ten-ten) kept on giving him since he sat down. It wasn't his fault that their company had been failing for the past three years and was saved from death by the Hyuuga. It also wasn't his fault that their ambitious father, Hoshimaru, offered up his elder daughter to the Hyuugas.

Neji was actually engaged to Sabaku Temari, Ten-ten's older sister.

The younger seemed to raise her disapproval very vocally. Neji didn't want to be bothered though. He didn't like Temari one bit. He was cordial to her, but he had no illusions that he would be married off to someone he loved or even remotely liked. One thing that he appreciated about his fiancée was that she had a good head on her shoulders.

This Ten-ten girl seemed to be the opposite. Hot-headed and too brash. Much like Naruto.

This would be one hell of a year.

* * *

"Naruto-kun, are you coming to lunch with us?" Hinata shyly asked the blonde, who was lounging in his seat.

"Huh?" Naruto said, shaken out of his stupor and turning his head towards Hinata. "Uhm, nope. I'll be spending lunch time with Sakura-chan and Ino-chan. They're showing me around the school."

Hinata smiled sadly. "O-okay then. See you this afternoon."

Sasuke scowled at Naruto. "Is that even safe, dobe? You know you're not allowed to eat in places where your guards haven't inspected the food yet."

"As if I'll be poisoned here, teme," Naruto shot back. "If there's one person who'll be poisoned, it's most likely going to be you. You practically wrote yourself a death sentence with that attitude of yours."

Sasuke kicked Naruto's chair, causing the blonde to fall over flat on his face.

"Sasuke-kun!" Hinata scolded. "Stop fighting with Naruto-kun. Let's just go, please."

With this, Sasuke stopped and went out with Neji and Hinata.

"Wow, she seems to be the only one to stop him huh?" Ino said, approaching the disfigured Naruto and the shocked Sakura.

"Y-yeah," Sakura said, feeling her heart filling up with sadness again.

Ino sighed. "I tried asking Kiba-kun to join us, but he refused," she stated, looking back at the brown-haired boy who seemed to be deep in conversation with a boy in their class. "He seems not to like me very well."

"What did you do?" Sakura asked, surprised that one person didn't like Ino at all.

"Nothing!" Ino said defensively. "I wasn't even swooning over him. I actually paid attention to Kakashi-sensei this time."

"Kiba's cool," Naruto said when he finally righted himself. "We actually became pals pretty quickly. As soon as we entered this room."

"Then why don't you ask him to join us, Naruto?" Ino asked excitedly.

Naruto sighed. "I don't think so," he said as they watched Kiba go out with a group of giggling girls. "He's a bit of a ladies' man, don't you think?"

"Tsk," Ino said in disappointment. "Oh well, let's go to the cafeteria."

"Okay," Sakura said.

"YOSH!" Naruto exclaimed, pumping his fists in the air as he followed the two girls.

"Seriously, Naruto, are you really Princess Kushina's son?" Ino said, laughing at his antics.

"Of course I am! You should meet my mom when she's not in public. She acts worse than me. I actually got most of my character from her," Naruto said, grinning from ear to ear.

The two girls laughed but were stopped when they heard fanatic screaming from below. They all peeked out of the window to see a beautiful limousine waiting for three passengers to get on – Sasuke, Hinata, and Neji. From their vantage point, it seemed that someone was trying to hit on Hinata when Sasuke pulled her out of the way.

"Uchiha Sasuke seems to like Hinata-chan very much, huh?" Ino commented.

"Of course he should," Naruto agreed. "They're engaged. They've been engaged for more than a year now."

"R-really?!" Ino said, awed. "Well, it would make sense since a merge between the Uchiha and the Hyuuga families would be considered as the perfect match. It's a plus point that Sasuke already likes Hinata."

"But from what Neji said to me, Hinata doesn't like Sasuke," Naruto said a bit too conspiratorially. "Poor bastard. Chicks always dig him but it seems that the girl who's going to marry him doesn't like him at all."

Ino's ears practically perked at hearing this juicy gossip. "Uchiha Sasuke, unrequited love?! That's unheard of! But it seems that Hinata-chan likes him enough!"

"As a brother," Naruto explained. "Hinata said so herself. She told me."

_That's because she's in love with you, moron, _Sakura almost said out of exasperation. It seemed that Naruto was dense beyond imagination. But she wasn't in the position to interfere. She herself has unrequited feelings for Uchiha Sasuke. It's all a complicated situation. And all those years of separation didn't do her any good too.

"How about you, Naruto-kun?" Ino asked. "Are you engaged to anyone? In our status, it's not uncommon to get engaged at 16."

"Me?" Naruto said, amused. "Nah. My parents are very different from the other adults. They don't believe in arranging marriages. My dad himself said that he doesn't care if I marry a prostitute, as long as I love her."

"A-a prostitute?!" Sakura gasped, alarmed that Namikaze Minato would actually say something like that to his own son, let alone to anyone.

Ino laughed uncontrollably. "Your dad is so cool!" she exclaimed. "My dad's like that too! Only, my mom's a bit on the traditional side."

"Well, you're a Yamanaka," Naruto said. "My parents are just more liberal. They married out of love, you see. It's just luck that my dad is a nobleman and later became Prime Minister. That's why my grandparents are more accepting of their relationship."

"Lucky indeed," Sakura agreed.

"Hinata and Neji aren't as lucky though. Hiashi is really strict," Naruto commented with a frown. "Hanabi, the youngest, is already engaged to Sarutobi Konohamaru, the Crown Prince of Amegakure. Neji is engaged to Sabaku Temari, daughter of a shipping magnate. I think she's that Ten-ten's sister, that's why she was pissed at Neji. And Hinata's engaged to Sasuke-teme."

"Do you always call Sasuke-kun like that?" Sakura said, almost groaning at the way this particular member of the royal family talked.

"Yeah," Naruto said. "I called him like that since we were kids. He's my best friend."

"You guys are best friends?!" Ino said in shock. "It's not very obvious!"

"Well, we've known each other since we were five. I got along with Itachi very well and he married nee-chan," he explained. "And Sai's really cool too. A bit weird, but well, everyone has their oddities."

"Yes they have," Sakura said pointedly, looking at Naruto who blanched.

"I've learned more juicy gossip from you than from anyone I know," Ino said as they finally reached the cafeteria. "So, what do you guys wanna – "

Ino was suddenly cut off from her sentence when a hoard of girls ran towards them, all with papers, pens, and cameras with them.

"NARUTO-SAMA!" they all yelled.

_Uh-oh, we forgot who we're with, _Sakura thought, eyeing Ino, who nodded. In a flash, they both grabbed Naruto and made a run for it.

Almost at once, a dozen guards appeared to halt the girls from trampling over them. To Sakura and Ino's relief, they were finally out of the stampede.

"I guess we could eat out?" Naruto said sheepishly, scratching the back of his head. "Sorry girls. That thing happens almost all the time."

"We know," the two said, clutching their stomach.

"My treat," Naruto said with a grin.

* * *

Hinata barely touched her food. She looked outside the window of a café that was cleared out by their personal assistants because of their presence. It was also because Sasuke owned this particular place.

"What's bothering you, Hinata?" Neji asked, eating his meal very carefully.

"Naruto didn't join us," she said. "It's our first day."

"The dobe's fast with making friends," Sasuke commented, trying to ease Hinata's worry. "You know him."

"But father told us to stick together. It's dangerous for us, even at Konoha Gakuen," Neji said. "I already told Naruto about that and I wouldn't be surprised if he's being rampaged by girls by now."

"Oh no," Hinata said sadly, worried beyond wits. It wasn't that she didn't want Naruto to have fun, but people tend to be overbearing and they tended not to respect personal space, especially towards people like them.

"He's a big boy," Sasuke said. "And he has his own guards to protect him. Even though he's an idiot, he _is _a prince of Konohagakure."

"And he's with the directress' grandchild," Neji added. "That Haruno girl."

Hinata nodded, her thoughts on the way Naruto openly flirted with Sakura-san. "She's very pretty."

"Hn," Sasuke said.

Neji didn't say anything for it was obvious that his twin sister was saddened by this. If only Naruto would wake up from his daydreams and actually _look _at Hinata. Before it was too late…

"Sasuke-kun," Hinata said. "Don't you think that we should contact Naruto-kun and check if he's – "

"OI YOU GUYS!" a voice that could only be Naruto's said from behind their table.

Naruto walked towards them, face covered with sweat and red from exertion.

"What happened?!" Neji demanded, standing up and noticing that two girls – Haruno Sakura and Yamanaka Ino – followed closely behind their friend, also panting.

"I had the driver bring us to where you were," Naruto explained. "A group of girls came up to me at the cafeteria."

"We already warned you!" Neji scolded him. "Just _listen _for once in a while, you idiot!"

"Yeah, yeah, well I haven't had lunch yet," Naruto defended himself. "Just let us eat here."

Sasuke just nodded in annoyance and asked the waiter to bring them more tables and chairs.

"By the way, this is Sakura-chan and Ino-chan," Naruto said as he made way for the two young women.

"Hi," Ino said, clearly happy with the company.

"H-hi," Sakura said, flustered at this sudden arrangement. She tried hard not to look at Sasuke-kun, who was staring at her.

"Join us, please," Hinata said, smiling sincerely up at them.

_I couldn't possibly bring myself to hate this girl. She's too kind, _Sakura said to herself. _She's practically royalty for god's sake._

"Are you alright, Sakura-san?" Hinata asked, concern etched on her porcelain face.

"Y-yes!" Sakura squeaked, settling herself across Neji and beside Naruto.

"What do you wanna eat, Sakura-chan?" Naruto asked. "Remember, this is my treat."

"Wow," Neji said, actually surprised for the first time. "You never treated _anyone _before, Naruto. You should include us."

"No way," Naruto grumbled. "This place belongs to teme here, he eats free and you and Hinata are also free from paying, by extension."

"Well, why not you? You're his brother-in-law," Ino said.

"Sasuke has a big exemption to his generosity rule," Naruto explained venomously. "And that's me."

Sakura chuckled in amusement. This love-hate situation between Sasuke and Naruto was endearing. "How long have you and Sasuke-kun been married?"

At this, Sakura almost slapped her mouth at the words that came out of it. Hinata actually laughed at what she said. Neji's stoic face broke into a grin. Sasuke nearly spat out the food he was chewing. Naruto paled, his tan actually fading. Ino broke into fits of hysterical giggling.

"A-ah, well…" the pink-haired girl said, trying to regain her composure.

"That wasn't funny, Sakura-chan," Naruto said, depressed.

"Not funny at all," Sasuke said in a flat tone.

"Ne, it was funny, Sasuke-kun," Hinata commented, going back to her meal and was finally relieved that Naruto was alright.

"Whatever," the onyx-eyed boy said, going back to his meal too and eyeing Sakura once in a while, effectively shaking her up.

Ino stared at her best friend knowingly as she ate. _So this is the boy Sakura was talking about? Even I could spot it a million miles away._

So it seemed that Haruno Sakura was in love with Uchiha Sasuke, who was engaged to Hyuuga Hinata. And it seemed that Hyuuga Hinata loves someone else. From the obvious change of her facade from worried to happy when they arrived, Ino could tell that she was in love with the prince, Namikaze-Uzumaki Naruto. And now, Naruto had a huge crush on her best friend, Sakura.

That complicated a lot of things indeed.

_How could it get any worse?_

_This is going to be an interesting year._

* * *

**Done! For more clarifications, just ask away. This will be pretty much humorous in general, but with other bouts of interesting things. Just you wait.**


	2. Chapter 2 - The First Complication

**I found a certain review really funny. The one from SmH. Dear readers, I will never **_**ever **_**put a pairing as a category of my fan fic if I don't intend to follow through with them. I don't fool my readers and I already explained the pairings of this fic. SASUSAKU, NARUHINA, KIBAINO, NEJITEN. (Don't mistake the caps as anger, I'm just explaining. :D)**

**What I meant by **_**side pairings **_**is that you will get a taste of **_**other pairings **_**aside from the main ones. The side pairings are just side stories, like the current fact that Hinata is engaged to Sasuke **_**by arrangement of their parents. **_**And Naruto is being his usual self by openly declaring his crush to Sakura, but that doesn't mean that they are the ones who'll end up together. I don't ship SasuHina and NaruSaku personally, and I never write fics that contradict to my personal tastes. I can write snippets or scenarios for them, but never an entire fic. Because as I said, I can always cater to requests from readers and friends. A particular online buddy of mine wanted to read SasuHina, so I included it as a non-canon pairing here.**

**And that's why this fic is entitled **_**A Number of Complications. **_**It's because of the complications. Lolwhut.**

**Chapter 2**

The First Complication

Breaking Mirrors

For the first time in a while, Sakura was in no mood to pay attention in class.

The first three months of the school year went by too slowly that it was almost painful. Ever since that time when Naruto got chased out of the campus by a horde of girls, Sakura never had another opportunity to come close and personal with Sasuke. And surprisingly, she never really wanted to have that moment anymore. It was like she, Haruno Sakura, with all her hard-headedness, finally accepted that Sasuke was never meant to be hers.

It wasn't an issue of having given up on her love for him. On the contrary, for the past three months, her lifelong crush developed into something more. It became selfless. It was clear that Sasuke liked Hinata by the way he selflessly took care of her and protected her. It was common knowledge that every girl in school, except for a handful of sane ones, loathed Hyuuga Hinata for having snagged the coveted honor of being able to spend the rest of her life with such a bachelor. And Sakura, having spent some time with the heiress, knew that Sasuke's fiancée was of pure heart and soul. The pinkette can't bring herself to hate her. And with the Hyuuga's kindness, Sakura even wanted to become something akin to friends with her. She just never had the opportunity with Hinata enclosed with bodyguards and her two personal hound dogs – Neji and Sasuke.

Sakura fumbled with the edges of her skirt. Kurenai-sensei was rambling on the history of music, and it would seem that only a few were actually paying attention to her. Hinata, for instance, was taking notes feverishly. Sakura smiled. She knew that the heiress' passion lay in music and that if she had an option, she would much rather play for an orchestra and compose songs than devote herself to their family business.

"Yamanaka-san," Kurenai-sensei suddenly said over the usual quiet of the class. "Will you please start paying attention to my lesson instead of talking to Inuzuka-san?"

Sakura turned her head and saw, with much amusement, that Ino nearly sank in her seat. It was unlike her best friend to be so embarrassed about something and it was a bit unclear why. Well, she knew that the blonde had a bit of an unrequited crush on the famous Inuzuka Kiba. From what Sakura could tell from where she sat was that Ino was trying to have a one-sided conversation once again. Kiba, on the other hand, was just busy reading off a book – a music book.

_So, he __**was **__paying attention to the teacher, _Sakura thought wryly.

"What's up with your best friend?" Naruto whispered from her right.

Sakura giggled and merely shrugged. She and Naruto had grown very close over the past months. It wasn't just Hinata who got the glares of other girls in the campus. She had her fair share too. Her closeness with a prince left them wondering if Sakura was using her connections and influence to actually snag a seat amongst the royalty. And it didn't help that there was a day when Sakura got invited over to Naruto's house for an intimate birthday party. Things went from bad to worse when the Prime Minister himself, Namikaze Minato, talked to Sakura during a visit that he made to the school just to 'check on his son.'

But those close to her knew that it was nothing like that. Even though Naruto practically shouted out to everyone who could hear that he had a crush on Sakura, their relationship remained that of very close friends and nothing more. Naruto knew that Sakura's affections belonged to Sasuke. A month ago, Sakura got fed up with Naruto asking her out every opportunity he got that she blurted out the truth. From then on, he stopped pining but he still made a jibe once or twice about how bad her tastes were.

Sakura also felt bad for Hinata, whose face fell every now and then whenever Naruto declared his undying love for her. The heiress was certainly in a very bad position. It was good that she was unaware of Sakura's feelings for Sasuke or else, knowing her emphatic side, she would feel worse about herself. It really was a complicated thing for this girl. Hyuuga Hinata was in a position of honor, money, fame, and power. She has everything every girl wanted, but not quite. She was stuck in a position that she didn't want in a first place but was forced onto her since birth. She has to run a company in the future, even though her dreams lie elsewhere. She was constantly scrutinized and her personality is not as forceful as one would hope for in a future leader. She loved a man who did not love her back, and now she was engaged to another man who, apparently, loved her. That is complicated.

And now, if she knew that one of her friends actually loved the man she was engaged to, she would feel terrible for wrecking that certain friend's chance at love.

Add that to her current situation of not being able to have a lot of female friends because most of them were jealous of her.

Sakura could relate even though for a bit. Luckily, her grandparents, even with all their oddities, would never force her to marry someone out of convenience. She also wanted to be a doctor and it was alright for her to inherit the family businesses in the future since she would be able to help those in need. The downsides in her life include not having parents, being hated by girls who accuse you of having a relationship with one of their idols, and pining for someone who doesn't even know you exist.

"Hinata," a silky, masculine voice said from the row behind Sakura which automatically left her skin in tingles.

"Y-yes, Sasuke-kun?" Hinata replied, apparently surprised out of her undivided attention towards her favorite teacher.

"I can't join you for lunch," Sasuke said. "Neji and I were called by Itachi for something urgent."

"It's okay," Hinata gently responded.

"I can tell the driver to get you someplace to eat. I can tell Naruto to come with you."

Sakura suppressed a grin at that. Even without turning, she could tell that Hinata was blushing furiously and fumbling with her fingers.

"That's fine, Sasuke-kun, I can manage," Hinata said.

Sakura heard Sasuke sigh. "Fine. Just… just find someone to have lunch with and stay safe. Stay in sight."

_Lucky Hinata. _

Sakura mentally slapped herself. That pang that she felt whenever Sasuke said something caring to Hinata wasn't quite gone yet. It was there, niggling her to be recognized. But if there's one thing about Sakura that she was proud of, it was the ability to ignore things that she deemed distracting.

And this was both distracting and destructive.

The bell rang.

"Naruto," Neji and Sasuke said in unison, but even with their combined voices, they were drowned by the blonde's ourburst.

"Sakura-chan!" Naruto said in a sing-song voice. "Lunch?"

Sakura suppressed a blush at Naruto's callous attitude. She could see a nerve ticking in Hyuuga Neji's forehead that intimated her. Sasuke's mouth deepened to a frown. Hinata's head was turned towards the window, apparently avoiding all the commotion around her and avoiding looking at Naruto and her.

Sakura forced a smile and said, "Hinata-san, do you want to join us for lunch?"

The blue-haired girl whipped her head towards her so fast that she was afraid for a second that the other girl might get a whiplash. Hinata's face was tinged with pink and it seemed that her eyes were shining with something that Sakura could not understand.

"O-of course," Hinata replied.

"That's great, glad you could join us!" Ino piped in from behind Hinata.

"But – " Neji tried to interrupt but Naruto stopped him.

"That's great Hinata-chan," Naruto said, his grin broad. "You can finally hang out with other girls. Ino-chan and Sakura-chan are great to be with."

"You can definitely trust her with us," Ino said, winking at Sasuke and Neji.

Neji merely closed her eyes and nodded. He turned away, calling someone on the phone.

Sasuke, on the other hand, was looking at Naruto with such intensity that made Sakura flinch.

"What's wrong?" she said, looking from Naruto to Sasuke.

Big mistake for her to open her mouth at that time. Sasuke's fierce glare shifted from Naruto to her. It seemed that he was sizing her up, trying to burn a message into her soul.

Without warning, he moved towards where she stood. His lips were suddenly next to her ear.

"Don't think I forgot who you are, Haruno Sakura," he growled in her ear. "If you ever try anything with Hinata, I will personally make sure that your life is ruined."

With that, he left, leaving Sakura in a state of shock.

Three pairs of eyes were staring at her in concern and confusion.

"What the hell did that bastard tell you, Sakura-chan?!" Naruto said, fuming.

"What was that all about?" Ino asked, putting her hand on Sakura's shaking shoulder. "Sakura!"

Sakura shook her head, trying to smile as bravely as she could. "Nothing. She just told us to take care of Hinata, that's all."

"That overprotective son-of-a – " Naruto began, but was stopped by Hinata who suddenly grabbed his arm.

It seemed that the heiress herself was surprised by the boldness of her move because she suddenly let go of Naruto's arm and was blushing furiously. However, her shyness was gone in a second when she looked at Sakura and spoke, in a voice that was surprisingly firm for someone like her, "Don't worry about Sasuke-kun, Sakura-san. He often does that."

Sakura smiled at the girl to try to assure her that she was fine. Unfortunately, nothing about Sasuke's statement of 'Don't think I forgot who you are, Haruno Sakura' made her think that he often said that.

"A~ny~waaaayyy~" Ino said in a faraway voice. "Let's head to the rooftop to eat. I cooked everyone excellent bento!"

"YES!" Naruto exclaimed, punching the air. "Ino-chan always makes excellent food," he added for Hinata's sake.

The Hyuuga reddened once more. "I-Is it enough for one more…?"

Ino laughed and waved her worries away. "It's okay! When Naruto started eating with us, I had to cook for more than ten people!"

The group laughed as they made their way to the rooftop. Sakura belatedly noticed men in black suits following them discreetly. She had an inkling that those people were there for Hinata. She was lucky that Naruto was strong-willed that he convinced his parents to let him live a normal life. In other words, when Naruto joined her and Ino for lunch for the past months, his guards were just stationed outside the school and not as close as Hinata's were right now.

"I-I'm sorry about the guards, minna-san," Hinata said as they were climbing up the steps. "But I have told them to just stand guard on the entrance to the rooftop and not with us. It's too embarrassing."

"Stop apologizing, Hinata-chan," Naruto said warmly. "That's our life."

"Yeah," Ino agreed. "It took me a while to get my own bodyguards to back off. Father insisted, you see. But I had to put my foot down."

"Ino once had a stalker, you see," Sakura explained as they finally reached the rooftop and began setting up.

"Terrible times," Ino said, shuddering.

"R-really?" Hinata said, apparently curious. "What happened to him?"

"He's in prison," Ino replied, flipping her hair out of her eyes. "He was hounding me because he said I looked like him and that we were soulmates. The worst thing that happened was when I was on vacation on Fiji and he followed me there. He rubbed suntan lotion on my back!"

Naruto grimaced and Hinata gasped. Sakura was observing the two of them and smiled at how cute it would be for them to be together. They were like polar opposites that just begged to be attracted towards each other.

"So… have you had any frightening experiences like mine, Hinata?" Ino asked, sitting down on the blanket after they finished laying down the extraordinary meal that she prepared.

Hinata seemed distracted and it seemed to Sakura that she avoided the question when she exclaimed, "This is really great, Ino-san! Did you make all of these on your own?"

Ino, not passing up on the flattery, smiled widely and said, "Yes! I actually do a lot of cooking on my spare time. I don't wanna be left out on normal stuff women do. My mother actually wanted me to learn household chores even with all the help around the house."

Naruto was already wolfing down his share, mouthing his gratitude and raving on how heavenly Ino's cooking was.

Sakura began eating a takoyaki, momentarily forgetting Sasuke's threat. Ino was laughing at Naruto's antics while Hinata was gracefully eating her share, her expression filled with genuine warmth and happiness.

"Ne, Sakura-chan," Naruto suddenly said. "Don't tell me there's nothing wrong. You've been quiet the entire time."

Ino and Hinata looked at her. "Yeah," Ino agreed. "What did Uchiha Sasuke say to you?"

"I already told you," Sakura said evasively, sipping her juice carton. "Don't worry about it Hinata-san."

But Hinata was already looking at her in a serious way. She was about to open her mouth when Naruto suddenly crammed a sushi roll in her mouth, nearly choking her in the process.

"NARUTO!" Sakura yelled, punching Naruto on the arm.

"OW!" Naruto yelped. "Sakura-chan, you hit like a man!"

"What the - ?!" Sakura yelled again, repeating her former action, causing Naruto to drop his food and run away from her.

Ino started laughing while Hinata tried to stop the two of them weakly. "Let them be, Hinata," Ino said comfortably, giving the shy girl a soft smile.

"So, how is it?" Ino suddenly asked.

"How is what, Ino-san?" Hinata replied.

"Don't address me like that, makes me feel old," Ino said dismissively. "Just call me Ino, or Ino-chan."

"Alright then," Hinata said, smiling shyly.

"How is it? Being engaged to Uchiha Sasuke?"

The two girls were oblivious that Sakura could hear them. Naruto already stopped running, complaining about stomach cramps and running while his stomach was full. Sakura merely shrugged him off and walked back towards Hinata and Ino, a bit anxious to know how Hinata would reply to Ino's query.

"I-It's alright," Hinata responded, looking down on her food.

"Are you happy?" Ino persisted. "Because you don't seem to be."

Hinata nearly blanched. "Of course I'm happy! Sasuke-kun is kind."

"Really?" Ino said, her eyebrows raised. "I think he's arrogant and snobbish, don't you think so, Sakura?"

Sakura gave Ino a sideways glare. Her best friend knew that she was in love with Sasuke, and it seemed that she was giving subtle hints towards her and trying to find out for sure that Sasuke was not the guy for her.

"H-he tends to be like that," Hinata said.

"Yeah, coz he's got a huge pole stuck up his ass," Naruto added, plopping down beside Sakura ungracefully.

"Seriously, _your highness, _with the way you talk and act, I seriously doubt that you're royalty," Ino said, rolling her blue eyes.

"Well, I _am _and I'm sorry to fail your expectations, Ino-chan," Naruto said playfully. "Once I'm emperor, I can definitely make sure not to forget what you said to me."

The group exploded in fits of mirth. Sakura, not being to restrain herself any longer asked, "But he likes you, doesn't he?"

"The teme does," Naruto answered before Hinata could even say anything. "Told me a couple of times.

"He did?!" Ino gasped in surprise. "I didn't think you and Sasuke were that close!"

"Well, we _are _best friends," Naruto said, lounging on his back. "He just doesn't want the public to know. We've known each other since we were born. Practically since my mom started breastfeeding me."

"Eew," Sakura and Ino said in unison.

"They have a little bromance going on, I think," Sakura said jokingly, trying to diffuse her own tension and the reality that Sasuke actually said that he liked Hinata.

"And besides, we're asking Hinata, not you," Ino said, momentarily glancing at Sakura worriedly.

Hinata was blushing, apparently uncomfortable with the entire discussion. But as it was the first time that she ever joined girls during lunch time, let alone a conversation, she obliged.

"Sasuke kun… h-he told me once," Hinata confirmed.

"Just once?!" Ino and Naruto chorused.

Hinata nodded, smiling slightly. "O-On the day we got engaged."

"Pretty slow on the uptake, that teme is," Naruto said. Sakura nearly punched Naruto on the head. She wanted to tell him how _he _was the one who was slow on the uptake. She could see Hinata's face from where she sat and damn, she could tell that she was disappointed at the way things were turning out.

"Have you noticed that he liked you even before?" Ino pushed on. Sometimes, Sakura wanted to slap Ino upside the head for being insensitive even to her own best friend. But given the blonde girl's penchant for juicy, inside information, Sakura could excuse her even for a little bit.

Hinata shook her head. "It was Hanabi who told me that she noticed Sasuke-kun's… anou… feelings."

"Your younger sister?" Sakura asked.

"Hai," Hinata answered.

"I think," Ino said, scratching her chin and looking at Hinata mischievously, "the reason why you didn't notice Sasuke's feelings for you was that you were eyeing someone else entirely."

Hinata sputtered, going a brilliant shade of ruby. Sakura suppressed a giggle as she watched the comical exchange in front of her. While Hinata was blushing brilliantly, Naruto took on a curious, open-mouthed expression that made him look like a comical character.

"You _like _someone else, Hinata-chan?!" Naruto all but shouted.

Hinata was staring at Naruto with a very scared expression. From redness to paleness, Sakura was flabbergasted by how speedy the transition of events was.

Ino was laughing uncontrollably. "Tell us who it is, Hinata-chan! I mean, I can't believe that Uchiha Sasuke, who rejects girls more often than I brush my hair, is in a one-sided love! Way to go!"

"B-but how…?" Hinata stammered, apparently questioning why Uchiha Sasuke's one-sided romance appeared to be amusing to Ino. And maybe, she was curious to know if she was that transparent that a girl who barely knew her immediately analyzed that she was in love with a man who was not her fiancée.

"I could tell from that very moment that you couldn't even give Sasuke a compliment," Ino explained. "Girls who are in love don't have to think of good things about her partner. They don't have to hesitate and they don't have to stop at one adjective. You just described Sasuke as kind. Heck, I can even call my own dog kind."

Naruto laughed so hard at that. He was holding the stitch of his stomach in gales of mirth. "That's epic, Ino-chan. Comparing Sasuke to a dog is priceless."

"But I didn't compare Sasuke-kun to a dog," Hinata said defensively. "And it's not… I mean, I'm not in love…"

"Yeah, you are," Ino said, catching Hinata off-guard.

Naruto stopped laughing and looked at Hinata seriously. "But who is it, Hinata-chan? I mean, you and Sasuke are already engaged and knowing your father, you know… sorry for saying this, but he's a huge pain in the ass with all that 'sticking to tradition' stuff he's got going on."

Hinata looked down. Sakura could almost see tears gathering on the side of her eyes.

"Hey," Sakura interjected. "Hinata… it's alright."

Ino noticed the shift in mood and said, "Sorry, Hinata. I didn't mean to pry.

"It's okay," Hinata said with a hiccup.

But it seemed that Naruto was more than concerned in this matter. "Is it someone from outside our circle? You know you can always tell me, Hinata-chan. I have your back. I promised you, didn't I? I don't go back on my word."

Sakura could see, and now she knew that Ino too could now see, the brimming love in Hinata's eyes as she looked at Naruto. Ino was grinning at her conspiratorially but Sakura just shook her head subtly. She knew that they shouldn't interfere with these things. It's far more too complicated than a simple 'matching up'.

"Whoever it is, I sure hope it's not me," Naruto suddenly added. "Coz if it's me, you're totally screwed, Hinata. Hiashi hates me. I'm a bane in his 'traditional lifestyle'. Seriously, guys, one time, he even asked me if I was adopted and – "

Before he could finish his sentence, Hinata fainted.

* * *

"Now that was interesting," Ino commented, twirling a strand of her ponytail.

Ino and Sakura were making their way back to the classroom. For Sakura's part, she didn't want to talk about lunch anymore. She just wanted to get her shit together and start focusing on class. They already missed the first period after lunch. They were making their way to their second period which was Physics. The teacher was new but she was headstrong and crazy. Some students called her a bitch and she nearly qualified as one, if she wasn't so brilliant.

"Anko might be pissed that we're late," Ino said, going unusually off-topic.

"She has no right to be," Sakura stated. "We're excused from first period. Grandma even gave me a slip. We helped Hinata out."

"One of the perks of being the headmistress' granddaughter," Ino said with a sigh. "But do you really think, with Anko's craziness, she won't give us some form of punishment?"

"I don't know," she replied. "Naruto's sure to have one."

Yes, because Naruto opted to stay with Hinata. It was both his choice and another form of punishment given by Neji and Sasuke. It was because he, upon much convincing from Ino and Sakura, called Neji and Sasuke about Hinata's predicament, causing the two to cut their lunch meeting short and head straight back to school. When the two arrived, they each landed well-aimed hits to Naruto's face, threatening him with death if he left Hinata alone. Neji and Sasuke would have insisted to be with Hinata if it weren't for Tsunade's famous rage fits. The woman promptly set off the two grumbling boys back to class.

"So… Hinata likes Naruto, huh?" Ino said, her voice hushed. "And Sasuke likes Hinata, but Hinata doesn't like him back because she does like Naruto."

"As you have said over and over again," Sakura said with exasperation.

"And it seems very convenient because it seems that Hinata already loves Naruto and those feelings won't go away anytime soon," the blonde assessed. "And Naruto has a huge crush on you, forehead."

Sakura glared daggers at Ino. "And your point is?"

"And you obviously love Sasuke," Ino pointed out smugly, crossing her arms across her chest. "So, to get this straight, Sasuke likes Hinata and is engaged to her but Hinata loves Naruto who has a crush on you but then again you love Sasuke. Isn't that very complicated, yet so simple at the same time?"

"What the hell do you mean, Ino?" She didn't like Ino's tone at all.

"Well," Ino said, as if Sakura wasn't seeing her flow at all. "We just have to straighten things out and just get people to date who they want to date."

"And?" Sakura said, stopping in her tracks and facing Ino. "You can't do that Ino. If people date who they want to date, it'd be a lot simpler, but it's not. If Sasuke-kun likes Hinata-san, then shouldn't he have the choice to date her?"

"But then again Hinata doesn't like Sasuke. She loves Naruto, remember? Doesn't she have the right to date Naruto, too?"

"Ugh! You're making me crazy, Ino!"

"You're just overcomplicating things. Don't you want Sasuke to be yours? Then make sure he gets the loving he needs! It's not like he's gonna get that from Hinata any time soon!"

"She might, you know," Sakura said, looking down the corridor.

"But she isn't. Not right now," Ino retorted firmly. "And from what I've seen, not anytime soon."

"So you mean to say that Sasuke and I should just date so that Hinata and Naruto can date?" Sakura said incredulously. "As if it's that simple."

"It's not that simple getting there. But it's not impossible," Ino countered.

"You're really too optimistic for your own good when it comes to love," Sakura said, shaking her head in amusement. "And what about yourself? Kiba hasn't even looked at you with interest for the past three months."

"It's because I don't want him to," Ino argued. "I don't love him. I'm just a fan. A _huge _fan."

Sakura rolled her eyes. "You always want things you can't have, Ino. We both know that. And you tend to fall in love with guys who just hurt you. Why don't you change that?"

Ino fell silent and Sakura immediately regretted what she said. "I'm sorry, Ino," she said. "Just… be careful. At the very least, Kiba isn't leading you on like those other jerks. But you need to stop pining for him. I'm learning to do that with Sasuke-kun even though it's hard. I want to be optimistic, but I just don't want to ruin other people's lives."

"And what about yours? Your own happiness, Sakura?" Ino said, looking at her with sad, blue eyes.

"It will follow."

The door to their classroom suddenly opened wide. Anko stood there, looking at them with death in her eyes.

"Why don't you girls stop talking about happiness and just enter my classroom?!" Anko hissed. "Wouldn't you be happier if you get a little knowledge in those pretty little heads of yours?"

The two immediately bowed their apologies and went in, scrambling to their seats. Sakura hastily shoved the excuse slip to Anko, who merely crumpled it and threw it in the bin.

"Tsunade-sama already told me," Anko said. "But you were disrupting class with your fantasies so I give the two of you detention."

"What?!" Ino exclaimed while Sakura groaned. "You can't do that! Besides, I have a photo shoot this afternoon and – "

"I don't care if your grandma is dying or if you're the Prime Minister's daughter," Anko snapped. "Speaking of Prime Minister's offsprings, tell Namikaze that he has a week's worth of detention to look forward to."

Sakura shuddered. Anko really was crazy. Most teachers were intimidated by the status of some students in Konoha Gakuen. Only she and Kakashi-sensei were uncaring enough to shell out harsh punishments. Sakura could understand Kakashi because he was well-known, well-liked, and has worked at this school for years. But Anko was only three months old in this institution, but she's already earned the moniker, "Poisonous Bitch." Or 'Witch' for those who don't want to use bad words.

"So now that's all out of the way," Anko continued, "let's ask Haruno-san to solve this equation on the board."

It took all of Sakura's inner restraints not to let herself go and punch a teacher on the face. She gritted her teeth, walked towards the black board and started solving the equation.

* * *

"I haven't had detention ever!" Sakura groaned, stamping her legs as soon as the bell rang, signaling the end of today's classes.

"Lucky you," Ten-ten said, approaching her. "I've had detention almost every other month."

"That's because you have no sense of restraint," Hyuuga Neji said from behind her.

Before Sakura could stop her, Ten-ten sent her book flying towards Neji's head. Fortunately, Neji had amazing reflexes and dodged the book, which was perfectly aimed, just in time.

"And you need to restrain your arrogant mouth," Ten-ten said venomously, ignoring her neglected book and stalking outside.

Neji went after her, much to Sakura's chagrin. She wanted to follow the two of them to prevent further fighting when Ino stopped her.

"Just let them be," Ino said with a chuckle. "Those two have so much rage going on about them that I can mistake it for sexual tension."

"Are you always this obscene, Yamanaka?" Inuzuka Kiba said as he passed by the two of them. Immediately after he said that, a hoard of giggling girls surrounded him, apparently amused by the jibe the popular idol made on the snotty Yamanaka actress.

Sakura was surprised at this and almost went after Kiba but the look on Ino's face stopped her. She was looking at Kiba with very lonely eyes. Before Sakura could say anything, Ino immediately turned to her and grinned – a grin that did not quite reach to her eyes.

"Come on," Ino said, taking her by the arm. "If we're late, who knows how many more detentions Anko will give us?"

"Okay," Sakura replied, letting it slide for now. She was sure to talk to Ino later. The two of them walked straight towards the detention room where a smiling Anko was waiting for them.

"Welcome," Anko said. The way she smiled and the way she talked made the two girls shiver. Sakura's thoughts momentarily turned to one of her favorite fiction books and one of its characters. Anko reminded her of _Harry Potter's _dementors and how they could suck out joy wherever they go, leaving people numb and helpless. Anko was one scary dementor.

_Dementress, maybe, _she thought amusedly.

"Since you two were so busy talking about happiness back then, I'll give you something to be happy about," Anko said, motioning for the two of them to sit. "This will be a very educational experience for you."

"What the…?" Ino whispered from beside her.

"Yamanaka," Anko said, getting a huge pile of papers from the desk. "Check these papers."

"HUH?" Ino said, eyeing the huge stack with fear. "But that'll take me forever! Can I just - ?!"

"No negotiations. You can't always get what you want. Learn that," Anko said with finality. "And you, Haruno, will solve this test for me."

Anko handed her a sheet of paper with only one problem on it. When Sakura laid eyes on the problem, it wasn't 9th grade physics. It wasn't even within high school.

"The homework I have for my PhD," Anko said, as if reading her thoughts. "I know how to answer that except I have a date tonight. And it has come to my attention that you're the smartest in your year, right?"

_God, stop me from throwing this desk at that woman!_

"Now, get to work," Anko said, walking towards the door. "Don't even think about leaving without finishing. I told Yamato-sensei to come here after an hour and a half to collect your work. He's gonna call me immediately if any one of you bails."

With that, she left.

Ino screamed.

"God, Ino!" Sakura bellowed. "You busted my ear!"

"I hate that woman!" Ino screamed again.

"Scream any louder and she'll hear you," Sakura said in annoyance. "At least you just have to check papers. You solve a doctorate-level problem!"

Ino visibly deflated at this. "Fine. I'm in a better position than you. But still, I'll miss my photo shoot!"

"Boo you," Sakura said sarcastically. "Now shut up and get to work. I have to concentrate."

After forty minutes, Ino suddenly whistled. She dropped the red pen and put the pile of papers on the desk. Sakura wanted to ask her if she was done, not quite believing the obvious. If Yamato-sensei was going to be here after an hour and a half as Anko-sensei said forty minutes ago, then it meant that she barely had one hour left to finish the problem and she was going nowhere.

"Done," she stated, almost doing a twirl.

Sakura looked up in surprise. "What?! That's too fast!"

"I do very well under pressure," Ino said. "Besides, I can still make it to my shoot. Now, I'll go ahead! Just tell Yamato-sensei that I'm done. Bye!"

Before Sakura could even blink, Ino was gone.

Sakura groaned and hid her face behind her palms. She almost consumed an entire pad of paper trying to solve this god-awful problem that Anko gave her but she was stuck. Crumpled balls of paper were strewn all around her feet, making her wince at the fact that she had become too messy because of this numerical fiasco that she was in.

"I guess I should just give up then, huh?" Sakura said to herself, looking at the ceiling and trying to piece her mind together. God knows how scrambled it was after staring at numbers that don't make sense.

There was a knock at the door but Sakura was too absorbed in her own thoughts to care. Unknown to her, Uchiha Sasuke opened the door and stepped inside.

Sasuke cleared his throat to alert Sakura to his presence but he had no luck.

Again.

Nothing.

"Oi," he said, disdaining the fact that he had to talk to get her attention.

"Huh?" Sakura said, as if woken up from daydream.

Sasuke was briefly taken aback by her eyes. They were green. They were light green. Not quite emerald, not quite sea. Lighter. He couldn't put his finger on it. But whatever shade they were, it captivated him for a few moments before the more rational side of him slapped him upside the face.

"What are you daydreaming for?" he said almost too harshly, more to himself than to her.

Sakura blanched. Sasuke just caught her staring her ass off at nothing. But she had no time to be rattled. She was much too annoyed by her current predicament anyway.

"I'm not daydreaming. This problem is just too fucking hard," she said, ignorant of the fact that she cursed in front of Sasuke.

Sasuke's eyebrows shot upward almost immediately. This was the girl that paled at what he said earlier that day. This was the girl that blushed incessantly for years since the day the he knew her. This was the girl that caused him to leave Konohagakure for years.

Throwing all thoughts away, Sasuke walked towards Sakura, looking over her shoulder and trying to peek at the thing that caused her such grief.

It was a piece of paper with a Physics problem.

"A Physics problem?"

Sakura nearly jumped out of her seat. He was right behind her, peering over her shoulder. "Y-yeah," she stammered, glad with the fact that he was behind her and he couldn't see her blushing face. "Anko gave it to me for detention. It's a doctorate-grade problem."

Sasuke said nothing and merely took the paper from the desk. He studied it for a moment before taking her pen and sitting down at the chair beside her.

He started scribbling stuff down before Sakura could react. She just stared at him, wide-eyed. _Sasuke-kun is solving the problem?! _

It shouldn't come as a shock to her. Back in middle school, Sakura would always rank second to Sasuke. Before he came to Konoha Gakuen, _she _was the top of their grade. Now, with him around, Sakura wasn't so sure. Yes, she was smart, but all her genius came from hard work. She had potential, but she had to do something to get where she wanted. Sasuke just… he just _flowed. _He was a natural.

After getting over the initial shock that Uchiha Sasuke was actually doing her work for her, she was a bit giddy with the fact that she had some time to quietly observe him. Since he was so immersed in his work, he wouldn't notice. That was just how he was. Even though they had little interaction from the day she knew him, she knew so much about him that others don't.

His onyx eyes were even darker when he concentrated. His brows were furrowed and his lips were set in a straight line. Sakura wondered how he would look like when he smiled. She wished that she was the one who could make him smile.

But she didn't have to wonder. Not anyway. She saw him smile. Just once.

When Hinata tripped over the leg of her chair and landed on his desk.

Yes, he smiled. It was just for a fraction of a second, but she saw it. The slight change in his expression.

And it was caused by a young lady who didn't even love him.

_This is a twisted world._

"If you'd just stop gaping and start looking at how I solved the problem, then maybe you'd have learned something," Sasuke suddenly said, standing up and giving her the paper.

Sakura turned away immediately and murmured a 'thanks'.

"Yamato called me to check up on you and Yamanaka," Sasuke said, explaining why he was here. "Told me to wait for you two 'til you were done. But I couldn't wait since I have someplace else to go."

Before Sakura could stop herself, she said, "With Hinata-san?"

Sasuke looked at her sharply. For the first time, Sakura noticed that Sasuke was holding a white envelope in his hand and his fists suddenly closed around it tightly. "None of your business."

Sakura frowned. "I know that. And by the way, Ino's done. That's her work."

She pointed at the pile of papers on the desk and started to move away when Sasuke suddenly grabbed her arm in a vice-like grip.

"What have you been doing all these years, Haruno?" he said, her surname rolling off his tongue like venomous honey.

Sakura stared at him, wide-eyed. "What the…?"

"Don't think I don't remember you. We were classmates back then," he said, his voice deadly and barely above a whisper. "You ruined my life."

Sakura's head was spinning. _What is he talking about?!_

"If you're trying to convince me that you have no bad intentions in being friends with Hinata, think again," Sasuke continued. "I know you all too well. You're only using Hinata to get closer to me. If that's what you're doing, stay away or else I'll make you so miserable you'll drop out of your _own _school. Hinata is kind and she'll never hurt a fly. She'll think that you really want to be friends with her. I've seen enough people try and use Hinata to know – "

Before he could finish, a resounding slap echoed in the classroom.

Sakura was panting, her left palm clenched and the other one barely going back to their original position. Sasuke's head was turned sideways, reeling from the force of Sakura's slap.

"Don't you _dare _presume what I can or can't do. Don't you dare presume who I am and what I want with people," Sakura said, her voice shaking with anger and hurt. "Hinata is indeed a kind and sincere girl. Truth be told, I pity her. She's stuck with a selfish and judgmental bastard like you."

"How dare – " Sasuke started, but was stopped by Sakura.

"I dare because you dared," she retorted. "She doesn't even love you, yet she stays with you. I may love you Sasuke and I may have been a fool all these years, but I won't take what you said lying down. I have – "

Suddenly, Sakura's phone vibrated. She took it out of her bag and answered Ino's call, ignoring Sasuke completely.

"Ino, what – "

Ino's voice was barely audible. It seemed like she was panting, like she ran a couple of miles. "Sakura, help…"

Haruno Sakura ran.

* * *

_**All around the mulberry bush,**_

_**The monkey chased the weasel...**_

**A rhyme for your thoughts about what will happen with this entire thing. Clues, clues...**


	3. Chapter 3 - The Second Complication

**And now folks, I give you FOUR updates! Yes, FOUR new chapters. The seventh chapter is currently in the works and will be posted ASAP. I hope you can give me four times the love for this. I was on a roll yesterday unfortunately, you must have heard of the super typhoon that ravaged the Philippines yesterday. The size of the storm (comparatively) reaches from Florida to Canada. It was _that _big, strong, and scary. Luckily, the province I'm living in didn't get that much affected and we didn't have a black out for more than 24 hours. I was suddenly struck by inspiration and motivation yesterday and I had to write down ALL FOUR chapters by hand, on paper. I was just able to transfer it on computer this morning****. **

**Because of my efforts, four times the love you can give, maybe? :D**

**Chapter 3**

The Second Complication

Breaking Barriers

Hyuuga Hinata arrived too early.

She didn't wait for her twin this time. She excused herself, saying that she needed to catch up on a certain lesson but left her notebook in her locker. She practically dragged her chauffer out of his sleep just to take her to school earlier than usual. Unfortunately, her alone time was interrupted when she found Sasuke already waiting for her inside the limo.

"Why so early? Neji called," Sasuke said, looking as perfect and unruffled as ever.

"I just have to get a notebook that I left in my locker. Haven't done my homework for that subject yet," Hinata lied straight out, not looking at Sasuke.

"You should have called me," Sasuke said. "I would have lent you mine. What subject is it?"

"A-anou…" Hinata answered, looking outside the window as they drove by houses of their area. "Biology."

"Hn."

One of the usual mornings. Hinata smiled slightly to herself. It was difficult living a life like this, but she gets by. She was thankful that she was given abundantly with everything anyone might want or need. But sometimes, she had to wonder why she was given things she didn't even want or need. And it was like there were consequences to getting this much. You can never be truly happy or free.

But freedom was a lie, wasn't it? It was an illusion.

Ever since she was born, she had an illusion that everyone deserved to be free. They can be free from destinies they were born with. They can be free from responsibilities and duties imposed. They can be free from what the world forcibly shoved down their throats. But of course, that was a lie.

Even the very sense of freedom is a lie.

Her own twin believed that. No one could escape the fate that they were born with.

The legacy that their parents and forefathers created – the Hyuuga Empire. They sacrificed almost everything to attain the fortune and the prestige that they had today. Does it have anything to do with her? Yes, they said. Hiashi, their father, often told them that they were the inheritors of a will and a dynasty that was so ingrained in the entire history and culture of Konohagakure that it was inescapable. What they had was a gift hard earned. And they helped build the country into a paradise that provides work and opportunities for those who dare to dream.

Indirectly, their father said that the Hyuugas had to put the happiness and ambitions of others before their own. It was like their own dreams were mere casualties of a bigger picture. It was like they had no right to dream further because being a Hyuuga in itself was a dream come true. All the responsibilities and privileges that their surname entailed meant that there was no room for any other dream other than being the owner of a huge chain of companies that seemed to set the world in motion. They had to inherit the legacy to keep the machine well-oiled. Or else, nothing…

Nothing will ever go right.

Growing up, Hinata never knew anyone aside from her own family. Neji and Hanabi were here most precious treasures. Neji grew up exactly as their father wanted him to be – strong, talented, brimming with potential, ambitious, and everything he was. Hanabi was the female version of Neji, with a spitfire mouth and will that knew exactly what it wanted.

Hyuuga Hinata was different. Technically, she was the eldest because she was born an hour before Neji was. But that doesn't really matter too much with twins. Especially not in the Hyuugas' case.

Because Hinata grew up exactly like their mother.

She was soft-spoken, artistic, sensitive – characteristics that do not make a fine leader of the company. In fact, almost everyone in their generation frown upon people with such delicateness and kindness. It was as if people who were born with such characteristics are born to be inferior, reaching only the ranks of subordinates.

Hiashi often expressed his frustration about Hinata. He intended to split the company between his children, bestowing leadership upon them in different aspects of the empire. He wanted each and every one of his children to shine. But Hinata seemed reluctant to take the role.

In reality, Hinata never wanted the role.

But she had to. At least, she had to try.

It wasn't like she was stupid or that she severely lacked potential. On the contrary, she had the same genius that Neji had. Unfortunately, due to the upbringing she had under her father, she had grown to be insecure and unsure of herself. Because of this, her potentials were often clouded by frequent bouts of stuttering and blushing.

Hinata's world slowly expanded when she was five. It was then that she met the very first people who were like her.

One of them was Uchiha Sasuke.

"_Hinata," her mother said, gesturing towards an intimidating man with deep grooves under his eyes and his family. He looked at Hinata with an expressionless face, making her want to melt behind her mother and just remain there. Beside him stood his wife, who was his exact opposite. She was extremely beautiful, with dark blue hair similar to hers that fell in waves behind her back. Her gaze was soft and she wore an endearing smile. On her left were three boys._

"_These are the Uchihas," her mother continued. "I already introduced them to Neji and Hanabi, but you were busy with flower pressing, so I didn't call you out yet."_

_Hinata smiled shyly and bowed._

"_What a beautiful girl," the woman said. "Hello Hinata-chan. My name is Mikoto. This is Fugaku," she pointing towards her husband, who gave a small smile that seemed to crack his hardened face. "And these are our sons…" _

_The three boys were very different yet at the same time, very similar. For one thing, they had a stoic look upon them that were the same as their father's. They had the same onyx eyes, which made Hinata a bit scared of them. She had never seen people with eyes as black as the night. But then again, no one had pearl-like eyes such as the Hyuuga. It was like a unique trait among influential families, she thinks._

_However, there were a couple of glaring differences. The eldest, who seemed to be in his adolescence already, had long hair tied in a ponytail. He was the exact replica of their father._

"_My name is Uchiha Itachi," the young man said with a sweeping bow. He took Hinata's hand and kissed it, earning a brilliant blush from the young woman._

"_Stop being so gross, Itachi," the younger boy, who looked exactly like his mother, said. For a boy, he indeed had feminine features and unusual hairstyle. He had part of his hair falling gracefully on his face, framing it just right. However, the back of his head had his hair sticking up, looking a bit like a chicken's butt._

_Hinata resisted the urge to giggle at her imagination._

"_Forgive my little brother," Itachi said to her, winking. It seemed that the eldest brother had a playful and mischievous side to him. "He doesn't have manners and he doesn't know how to treat ladies."_

"_Shut up," the other boy said, frowning at Itachi._

"_Boys," Uchiha Fugaku said, enough to silence the squabbling pair. The younger boy looked embarrassed, but the older boy just grinned at her._

"_And this is my second son, Sasuke," Mikoto said, ignoring the earlier banter and gesturing towards the boy with the chicken butt hair._

_Before Hinata could smile, the youngest boy spoke up. From what Hinata could tell, he was probably about a year younger than her. He was plain compared to the other two boys, and while they were fair in complexion, he was pale. It was a sickly pale that made Hinata think that he must be ill often. Compared to his two brother, his hair cut was normal and was kept neat and short. Even with his apparent like of flair and oddity, his voice rang straight and clear._

"_Good morning, Lady Hyuuga," he said courteously towards Hinata, bowing. _

_Hinata smiled warmly, grateful at the boy's politeness and sweetness._

"_I am Uchiha Sai," he continued, gesturing towards himself._

"_H-hello Sai," Hinata said._

_Sai smiled. Surprisingly, it was a cold and rehearsed smile that startled her a little. Such a young boy shouldn't have that kind of smile._

"_Please forgive my brothers' insolence," he said. "And you don't have to hide the fact that you think Itachi-nii-sama's hair looks like a girl's and that Sasuke-nii-sama's hair looks like a chicken butt."_

_Hinata couldn't help herself. She laughed._

Hinata laughed at the memory, earning Sasuke's attention.

"What are you laughing about?" Sasuke asked, looking at her, his expression soft.

"I remembered the time that we met," Hinata replied. "Remember what Sai said?"

"Kuso…" Sasuke said, his original expression turning to a grimace.

"Chicken's butt," Hinata said, laughing without restraint.

Sasuke and his family were the only people in this world where she could just laugh and talk without stammering so much. She considered them as her second family.

Like the fact that she considered Sasuke like her own brother.

"_Hinata, the Uchihas are here," Neji said from the other side of her door._

_Hinata sniffled, wiping away the tears that flowed down her face. She quickly stood up from her bed and mustered all her strength to say, without her voice shaking, "Coming!"_

"_Don't take too long," Neji said and left._

_Hinata was grateful that she remembered to lock the door or else Neji would see her crying again. Neji hated seeing her cry and he hated it especially when Hiashi made her cry._

_The only thing that Neji and their father disagreed about was the way Hiashi often reprimanded Hinata._

_And this time, it was about Hinata being homeschooled._

_Hinata wanted so much to enter a normal school like Neji but Hiashi wouldn't allow her, saying that people would only try to exploit her for a lot of things. Hinata didn't understand why her father thought that everyone had such bad intentions always. It just wasn't reasonable._

_She scanned her face in the mirror. Thankfully, she hadn't been crying that hard and that long. Or else, her eyes would be puffy and the Uchihas would definitely notice that something was up. She didn't anyone teasing her._

_The Uchihas had been regular visitors to their house since then. She had developed a close relationship with the brothers. Neji, in particular, idolized Itachi. Itachi was very intelligent and was considered as a genius by many. He shared a lot of things with the male Hyuuga, teaching him ways to best improve in his business acumen even at such a young age. It seemed obvious that Itachi, even with his happy-go-lucky ways, loved what he was destined for. He loved the Uchiha heritage and the way it contributes to the society._

_Hanabi also developed a close relationship with the boys. She and Sai were often united in pissing off Sasuke, who was a bit grumpy. Hanabi had a sharp tongue that knew no boundaries. Sai had a polite tactlessness that was considered a very lethal and unusual combination. With the two of them together, madness was sure to ensue._

_Meanwhile, the withdrawn Hinata would often find a similar wavelength with Uchiha Sasuke. Sasuke was arrogant – the type of arrogant that would never admit that he was wrong. He took pride in his name in a different way. It was a way that he considered everything that didn't belong in their circle inferior. He resented the fact that he wasn't taken seriously enough because he was the middle child. He constantly had to prove himself better than Itachi. He constantly tried to fend off remarks from Sai. He never showed any emotion, for fear that anyone would use it against him. But every now and then, he would be nice, caring, and protective._

_The only person who got to see that was Hinata._

_But because of the way Sasuke treated her, the two would often be the subject of teasing. And because of that, they would often sneak away in secret parts of his manor or her manor (whoever visited whom) and just talk to each other about everything under the sun._

_Hinata, after tidying herself up and dressing herself in a purple sundress, went down to meet the boys._

_As usual, there were no parents around. They were probably busy conversing with each other about business. The children were already in the playroom._

_Itachi was already in front of the computer, oddly enough, playing with Hanabi. He grinned at Hinata in greeting. Sai, who was painting, turned to Hinata and waved._

"_Stop cheating, Itachi," Hanabi said in a deadpan voice, shooting a venomous glare at the oldest Uchiha._

"_I'm not cheating, Hana-chan," Itachi said, laughing. Two years after their first meeting, Itachi was already a strapping young man who was well-liked by girls of his generation._

"_Did onii-sama tell you about his girlfriend?" Sai, already six, said._

"_You really are something, Sai," Itachi said, laughing slightly._

"_ITACHI HAS A GIRLFRIEND?!" Hanabi squealed, dropping the controller and putting her undivided attention on Itachi. _

"_Exactly how old are you?" Neji said, taking a very serious note. "Is it allowed for us to have relationships at that age?_

"_I'm already 17, Neji," Itachi said with amusement._

"_And yet he still plays with kids," Sasuke said, who up until then was reading a book in a corner._

"_Sasuke-kun," Hinata said in reprimand._

"_**You **__have a girlfriend too, onii-sama," Sai said. "Hinata-nee-sama."_

"_Urusai," Sasuke said. Hinata blushed, walking towards where Sai was painting and trying to change the subject by asking what style he was using._

"_And Neji-nii-san, should you really be concerned about the age?" Hanabi said, laughing her head off. Neji aimed a kick at her which she dodged easily._

"_Anyway, who is it?" Hanabi asked, not willing to get sidetracked._

"_You'll meet her later," Itachi said, a soft smile playing on her face._

_Hinata's eyes widened. __**A girl? For Itachi? **_

_She was sure this young woman was beautiful. So that was the reason why her father was so busy preparing something. The house had been cleaned to utmost perfection, its usual pristine state amplified thrice over. Hinata never had the opportunity to ask why because of the scolding she had from her father._

"_So that was what father had been stressing about," Hanabi said. "The whole girl's family is coming over?"_

_Itachi nodded, his eyes back to the game._

"_Who is it? Is she one of us?" Sasuke questioned imperiously, his arms crossed over his chest._

"_Don't be such an elitist, Sasuke," Itachi said, frowning at his younger brother. "I'd laugh at you if you married someone a class lower than ours."_

"_I would never make such a mistake," Sasuke retorted._

"_Sasuke-kun, you shouldn't look at others based on their status," Hinata scolded him, picking a book from a shelf._

"_But it's important," the boy threw back. "It's important to maintain the standards in the family. Even if the girl's family is rich, she's still not of the same standing as us, so that may pose a problem. She won't be used to the same pressures that are – "_

"_For your age, Sasuke, you seem to have thought about marriage a lot," Itachi said, chuckling._

_Sasuke's cheeks were tinged in pink but he said nothing. He glared at Itachi, loathing his older brother once more._

"_I have absolutely no idea who it is," Hanabi said, lounging in her seat._

_Hinata couldn't help but giggle. Instead of the fact that this conversation was actually between children and one teenager, one would think that a bunch of adults were actually talking._

"_What's the type of man that you wish to wed, Hanabi?" Sai asked the younger girl._

"_I don't know," Hanabi answered. "If I could find a man that's man enough for me."_

_Itachi exploded in gales of laughter. "And what's that supposed to mean?"_

_Hanabi ignored the laughter. "Well, I always thought that I want to marry someone like you, Itachi, but I guess not."_

_Back then, Hinata would wince at how informally Hanabi addressed Itachi, Sasuke, and Sai. After all, they were all older than her. But in time, the brother actually welcomed Hanabi's lack of intimidation towards them and they were all endeared by her fiery attitude._

"_So, you wish for a much older man?" Sai said, still painting. "Are you not worried by the fact that they may have wrinkly balls?"_

_The reaction was comical and instantaneous. Neji's jaw dropped. Itachi fell over his chair, laughing his head off. Hanabi groaned and slapped her head with the palm of her hand. Hinata went red as bricks. Sasuke was beside Sai in a second, whacking his head with his fist. _

"_What are you teaching him?!" Neji complained._

"_He reads too much," Sasuke replied. "Stuff too inappropriate for his age."_

"_Like you," Itachi teased._

"_At least I know how to filter out what I read," Sasuke retorted._

_Before the brothers could argue once more, the door opened._

"_Ohayou-tebbayo!"_

At that moment, Hinata's life was changed forever.

She opened her bag, taking a notebook that she had been writing on the entire night. It was her diary and all her precious thoughts were there. She discreetly took an envelope from between it and returned the notebook in her bag. She clutched onto the envelope like her life depended on it.

Unaware of Sasuke's attention on her, she finally stepped out of the limo as they finally reached the school.

As expected, there were still no students in the school. It seemed more conducive to go at this hour because if they went in with the other students, they would be hoarded by a lot of people and they would be disturbed like usual. It was a bit exasperating to fend off girls who were crazy about her friends.

"I'd be going to school at this time starting now," Sasuke said from beside her, apparently thinking the same way as her.

"It won't be a pain to wake up too early?" Hinata said, a tinkle of a laugh in her voice.

Sasuke smiled. "No. I always wake up early."

Hinata knew that deep within Sasuke he knew that all his feelings for Hinata were sisterly in nature.

Why?

It was easy to answer. Have you ever been in a comfortable situation? That place where you'll be sure to come home to and always feel safe about? That was Hinata and Sasuke.

They both were from prestigious families – the richest in Konohagakure. They were sheltered since they were born. They were eclipsed by their siblings in terms of personality and other gifts. They strove for acceptance. They wanted to belong. They wanted to be acknowledged. They worked harder than anyone else and they were both results of some sort of disturbed upbringing. However, they didn't hate their families. They just wanted to be part of them.

Hinata was shy and insecure. She had difficulty hiding herself but was unable to grow into an improved version of herself because of her inhibitions. Sasuke, meanwhile, was able to grow into the version of himself that he wanted to be, but was hiding his true self from everyone. He grew so good at hiding that no one really knew who he was.

They related to each other and knew each other more than anyone else. The only problem is, their traits were such a dichotomy that they were unable to improve each other from what they already knew. They were so similar that they never pushed each other out of their comfort zone. They just made that zone bigger enough to accommodate the both of them and no one more.

Hinata knew that Sasuke liked her because she was his ideal woman. They were from the same circle. Their families are equal in strength, prestige and money. They were childhood friends. He showed parts of his true self to Hinata and she knew his story. She was soft-spoken and she never forced him to be someone he didn't want to be. She was kind and considerate and she reminded him of his own mother. He wasn't comfortable letting anyone else in and that's why he was sure that she was the only one for him.

Hinata knew… she knew that they both needed people who changed them. They both needed people who made them the best versions of themselves.

And even though Hinata stammered and fainted in front of a certain someone, he made her want to dream… he made her want to strive to be someone so much more than who she already was. He made her stronger and better. He made her believe that there was so much more than what she was already born with. He made her see that there was life beyond the confines of what she grew up with. He made her realize that it was alright to dream and that one's future and fate was something that they make for themselves. They could change their stories however way they wish.

"_You can still be whoever you want. You can inherit the Hyuuga empire, for god's sake, but don't let it define who you are. You can't own the world. You can't please the world. All you can do is be happy for yourself and do what you want as long as you don't step on others. If you think being the Hyuuga heiress is inescapable, then find the best part of it and make the most of it. You can be the CEO while pressing flowers and playing music, ne, Hinata-chan?"_

She fell in love that day.

She met _him._

"_Who the hell are you?" Sasuke said, looking at the boy that just barged in their playroom._

_The boy was blonde with startlingly blue eyes. Cerulean and swimming with joy. His hair was unruly and was up in spikes. He was tanned and he had odd whisker-shape marks on his face. His grin was huge and open – like one of the boys Hinata saw playing on the sidewalk on one of their trips around Konohagakure. If you were discriminatory, you would say that with the way this boy acted, he belonged to a very poor family. From his entrance, you could say that he had no manners in front of people he just met._

"_Namikaze-Uzumaki Naruto," the boy said, pride in his voice. His feet were planted apart and his arms were crossed along his chest. He was in his casual wear, like all of them but somehow, he looked rowdier in it._

"_Naruto!" Itachi exclaimed, getting up and moving towards the boy._

"_Namikaze-Uzumaki?" Neji repeated, clearly awed._

"_What's that? Seems too long," Hanabi said, grimacing._

"_You don't know?" Naruto said, guffawing. "I – "_

"_Now, now, Naruto," a feminine but strong voice said from behind Naruto._

_Hinata noticed that her parents were there, along with the Uchihas. With them was a man with shoulder-length red hair who was holding the hand of a woman who had blue hair, adorned with a flower. With the two was another couple, a man with the same blonde hair as Naruto but was more stylish and longer. With him was the woman who called Naruto, a person with long, red hair._

_There were two girls with them – one with red hair and one with blonde hair. The younger girl was about Hinata's age and she was wearing glasses. She had layered red hair that reached past her back. The older girl was about Itachi's age – beautiful and serene looking. Her hair was blonde and a bit wavy. Hinata was awed by the girl's presence and it seemed that she noticed her because she sent a warm smile her way._

_The group was wearing formal Konohagakure wear, the usual kind which you saw that the royal family wore._

"_Children," Hiash said. "Let me introduce you to our visitors."_

"_They're the Uzumaki and the Namikaze-Uzumaki clan," Hinata could hear Neji whispering furiously in Hanabi's ear. "They're Konohagakure's royal family."_

_Hanabi's mouth fell open. These people were more popular than they were. Yes, they had the same standing financially but these people had influence way before them. _

"_This is Crown Prince Uzumaki Nagato," Hiashi said, gesturing towards the man with the shoulder-length red hair. Hinata noticed that he had surprisingly odd purple eyes that seemed to look into your soil. They all bowed before him and he bowed in return, surprising Hinata with his humility._

"_This is Crown Princess Uzumaki Konan," at the blue-haired woman beside Nagato. The woman was beautiful, with amber eyes that spoke volumes._

"_This is Namikaze Minato, the congressman here in Konohagakure," pointing at the handsome man with the same blue eyes and blonde hair as Naruto. His expression was kind and reserved. Hinata could tell at a glance that this man was very powerful and wise. His aura made her more comfortable than the Crown Prince._

"_This is Princess Namikaze-Uzumaki Kushina, and she is the sister of Crown Prince Nagato," gesturing at the red-haired woman. _

_Instead of letting bow like what they had been doing, Kushina brushed aside the formalities and said, "Stop doing that. Makes me feel ancient."_

_The royal family laughed and so did the rest of them._

"_See? My mom's super cool," Naruto piped in, surprising the adults._

"_You have quite the rambunctious child, haven't you?" Hiashi said, his smile not quite disguising the subtle jab behind the words._

"_Raised normally, in fact," Kushina said, her grin nasty._

_Hinata was taken aback. Never in her life did she see anyone stand up against her father. Hiashi wouldn't have the guts to retort because he was up against royalty._

"_If I may, Hyuuga-sama," Nagato said, eyeing Kushina. But there was no mistaking the amused glint in the Prince's eyes._

"_This is my daughter, Uzumaki Karin," Nagato introduced the little girl with glasses._

"_Ohayou gozaimazu," Karin said, smiling widely at them._

"_And this is my daughter, Princess Namikaze-Uzumaki Haruko," Minato spoke up, pertaining towards the blonde young woman. _

_Hinata didn't have to understand who she was. It was apparent by the way Itachi smiled that she was the one – she was Itachi's girl._

"_And this is my son, Prince Namikaze-Uzumaki Naruto," Minato continued._

"_Now, children, introduce yourselves," Uchiha Mikoto said._

"_My name is Uchiha Sasuke," Sasuke said, going first and bowing slightly._

"_My name is Uchiha Sai," Sai said, doing the same._

"_My name is Hyuuga Neji," Neji said._

"_My name is Hyuuga Hinata," Hinata said shyly, thankful that she didn't stammer. _

"_My name is Hyuuga Hanabi," Hanabi said._

"_And of course well all know who Itachi is," Kushina said, smiling broadly._

"_You kids will join us for afternoon tea. We have an important announcement," Fugaku said._

_They obediently followed. Hinata found herself walking beside the boy named Naruto. Sasuke was quick to appear on her left, as if trying to shield her from whatever it was this boy was going to say._

"_Hi," Naruto said, smiling widely once more. "My name's Naruto."_

"_We know, you already said so," Sasuke said._

"_I wasn't talking to you," Naruto spat. "You're Hinata, right?"_

"_H-hai," Hinata said, blushing furiously. It wasn't because of what he said. It was because his face was so close to her that she wondered if he was even taught the words 'personal boundaries'. _

_He didn't have the usual courtesy you would expect from people who were royalty._

"_And this teme is Sasuke," he said out of nowhere, smirking at Sasuke._

"_What did you say, idiot?!" Sasuke said loudly, effectively earning the disapproving glare of Mikoto who was walking ahead of the kids._

"_Boys," Uzumaki Karin suddenly interrupted them. "Naruto, don't dirty yourself with this scum."_

_Hinata was flabbergasted. Karin seemed kind at first glance, but it seemed that she was mistaken. _

"_I won't stand for anyone who's unkind to my cousin," Karin said. "I am her onee-san."_

"_Only for three months!" Naruto said, frowning. "You're not that older than me."_

"_Fine," Karin said, grinning. "But still, I have to protect you. You __**are **__third-in-line to the throne."_

"_How come this dobe is?" Sasuke said, ignoring what Karin said to him. He looked her straight in the eye and Hinata could see a tinge of pink staining the Princess' cheeks. _

"_The line is passed down to male heirs only," Karin explained, adjusting her glasses to hide her eyes. "I am female, and until my parents have a male baby, then Naruto is next-in-line after my father. He is the only male in our generation."_

"_Then Konohagakure is ruined," Sasuke quipped, returning Naruto's smirk._

"_If I become Emperor, I'll be the best one there is!" Naruto exclaimed, pounding his fists in the air._

"_All you do is talk. You're just a kid."_

"_And what are you, an old man? You're not much older than me!"_

"_I will inherit the Uchiha fortune someday, so watch your mouth!"_

"_As far as I know, Itachi will. He's far cooler than you are!"_

"_I'll surpass him one day!"_

"_You're one to say that I'm all talk when you want something similar to what I want," Naruto suddenly said, leaving Hinata, Karin, and Sasuke._

"_You shouldn't talk to him like that," Karin said. "He's serious about this stuff. And I see that you are too. He's just trying to be friends with everyone."_

_With that, the Princess left too._

_When they finally settled down with the adults, Fugaku stood up._

"_This is a truly wonderful day for all of us," he said. "Because of the good news of love that has reached all of us."_

_The children listened in rapt silence, some understanding, some not really willing to listen to all these mushy stuff._

"_My son, Itachi, is now promised to the Princess Haruko," Fugaku proclaimed, gesturing towards the young man and woman._

_Itachi was smiling along with Haruko, who had a small blush on her face._

"_Promised? What's promised?" Hanabi said abruptly._

"_Hanabi…" Hiashi said, but Hinata knew that he wasn't really angry at his favorite daughter._

"_Promised means that they will be engaged someday," Kushina explained patiently._

"_Engaged? Then they'll be married?" Sai added._

"_Yes," Mikoto answered, smiling at her youngest son._

"_Eew," Sai and Hanabi said in unison._

"_There's nothing gross about that," Neji said. "It's a political union that will ensure the enrichment of their lines."_

_The Uzumakis laughed. "What a smart child," Nagato commented. "Your view is that of an adult!"_

"_It's like a small you, Hiashi," Kushina said in amusement._

"_Indeed," Hiashi said proudly. "At least he has the real view on things. I won't be surprised if our Hinata will tell you that it's about love."_

_Hinata was taken aback. She said nothing but looked down at the food laid down in front of him._

_Naruto was staring at her with an unreadable expression before he said, "Well, it's true. My parents married for love. Itachi and Haruko are promised because of love. I certainly would want to marry for love. It just so happened that they were from the same circles. Why shouldn't anyone else?"_

"_Now __**that **__is mature," Kushina said proudly, ruffling her son's hair. Minato was glowing with pride too, winking at Naruto._

_Hinata was surprised. No stranger ever stood up for her. Even Sasuke didn't defend her from Hiashi's jabs. Neji rarely did so in public, but he resisted whenever no one was around. Even Hanabi was like that and she seldom got involved because she was still young. But this person… this… Naruto…_

_Hinata stole a look at him and found him grinning at her, as if comforting her. She blushed once more and looked down._

_Unbeknownst to her, Haruko had seen the exchange and smiled to herself. She whispered something to Itachi's ear, causing the young man's eyes to go wide as saucers and look at the two children._

"_Well, you have to get used to the fact that your brother said because someday, you kids will undergo marriage interviews and you will be promised to marry someone by Itachi's age," Hiashi explained. "And it will be alright because you are friends with each other and – "_

"_I can't imagine myself marrying Hanabi," Sai said with finality, causing the other adults to laugh._

"_No one is deciding anything yet, Sai," Fugaku said, suppressing a grin which seemed to annoy Hiashi._

Nothing is decided yet, but it seemed that the optimism of that statement a long time ago was lost. On her 16th birthday, Hinata was promised to Sasuke. There was no talk between her and her parents. She only found out the day of her birthday. Apparently, Sasuke already knew about this because his parents had the decency to inform him. Hinata's mother would have, if she weren't compelled by her husband not to.

And it seemed that Sasuke felt that this match was more than fine with him.

But she wanted someone else. If only they knew, they would have set it up. There were no restrictions against it – her wanting to marry Naruto. In fact, it could have been a match made in heaven. She was a Hyuuga – rich and noble by her own right. Naruto was the same. They were on equal footing. However, it was just that Hiashi never warmed up to Naruto. He considered Naruto too unconventional and not fit for his position. He even stated in the privacy of their home that he wanted Nagato and Konan to have another child, just so Konohagakure could have a more decent heir.

However, it seemed that Nagato and Konan couldn't have any more children. That much Karin hinted to them.

Hinata never wanted the prestige that came along with marrying Naruto. She just wanted him. She simply loved him.

And after so many years, she was about to tell him.

In a way…

"_Why are you crying?" Naruto asked, finding her behind an oak tree in the Uzumaki grounds._

_Hinata squeaked in surprise. "N-nothing. I-I'm fine, Naruto-kun."_

"_No, you're not. I heard what your father was saying back there," he said. "You don't have to believe everything that he says, you know."_

_Hinata stared at her incredulously. "W-what do…?"_

"_I mean, you have a mind of your own," Naruto said. "No one forced me to be a prince since I'm born one. The duty was thrust upon me too, you know. But I choose to make the best of it and I won't let it define me. I'm gonna be my own prince. And I'm gonna be my own emperor."_

"_Th-that's great, Naruto-kun," she said in admiration. "But it's not that easy."_

"_I didn't say it was," he said amusedly. "Nothing is achieved without effort. Sasuke lets you believe that everything's easy but it's not. You're special, Hinata-chan. Don't let anybody tell you otherwise."_

_Hinata blushed. She knew from that day forward that she would always look at Naruto in a special way._

And now she loved him more than anything and anyone else in the world.

"Sasuke-kun, I have to go to the girls' bathroom," Hinata said.

"Okay, I'll head to the classroom now," Sasuke said.

Hinata left, not knowing that she dropped a white envelope as she ran.

Sasuke picked up the envelope, making a mental note to himself that he'll give the letter to Hinata later.

* * *

The rest of the day went by in a blur. Hinata was happy – happier than she ever had been in years. She just made friends with two girls – Ino and Sakura. It was true that she was a bit insecure of Haruno Sakura. It was clear to her and to everyone that Naruto fancied the pinkette. However, it seemed that Sakura didn't like Naruto back.

Hinata wished that she could be as assertive as Sakura. It also seemed like she was a kind soul, having welcomed Hinata to lunch. She was nice, friendly and also extremely pretty.

The entire time that she was inside the clinic, Naruto stayed with her, albeit forcibly. Sometimes, she wanted to stop her brother and Sasuke from bullying Naruto too much when it came to her. She knew that they meant well, but still, she didn't want Naruto to be forced to be with her just because someone said so.

He only left when the nurse told her that she was good to go. He explained that he had to have a word with Anko-sensei.

The only damper in her mood was that Sasuke wasn't his usual self. He was a bit withdrawn and his smiles towards her were forced.

She sighed and made her way to the back of the gym. Her classmate, Kizuna, told her that Kurenai-sensei wanted her to fetch Asuma-sensei, who was just finishing up a basketball session at the gym. She couldn't find him, so she started looking around.

"Asuma-sensei!" she called out. The sun was already dipping low at the horizon and its orange glow was hurting her eyes.

"You're pretty stupid for an heiress," a mocking voice said from behind her.

Hinata turned around and was almost knocked out when a wooden stick slapped her across the face. She dropped on all fours, feeling her mouth filling up with blood because of a busted inner cheek.

"Wow, you're a lot more resilient than I thought."

Hinata looked up. She couldn't recognize any one of those girls. They had masks across their faces and their eyes and hair were the only things that stood out. But they were from Konoha Gakuen, that was for sure.

"I hate girls like you. You have everything and it seems that you want more," a girl with black hair in ponytails said, spitting at her. "Now what did you do to Sasuke-sama? He looked so lonely today."

"It's obvious isn't it? Did you see the way she drools at Prince Naruto?" another girl joined in.

Hinata's head spun as a kick was aimed at her head. _They know… they know… does Sasuke-kun know?_

She would have told Sasuke. She had every intention to. But she never had the opportunity… never had the courage…

"So, you fancy Naruto-ouji-sama," a girl with shaggy silver hair said. "I fancy him too, you know. But he's always hanging around that Haruno bitch. How does it feel? To be a hime but not getting your ouji? Even people like you have problems, ne? But you still get gold even without Naruto-ouji-sama. You have Sasuke-sama."

"And they all want to protect little Hinata-chan."

"So disgusting." Another blow.

"And so weak." Another one. She fell down, the dust rising momentarily around her.

But Hinata did not pass out. It was as if there was a strange, almost cruel strength within her that wasn't allowing her to give in. It was like it was taunting her aggressors to even beat the crap out of her more.

"You just won't give up huh? You want more?"

"OI!"

Hinata couldn't muster the strength to look up. Through the haze and through the hair that fell in disarray across her, she saw a flash of long, blonde hair.

_Ino-san?!_

"Ooohh! Another bitch!"

SMACK!

"What the hell?!"

"Don't underestimate a Yamanaka," Ino said. "You picked the wrong day to piss me off. I'm already so upset that I want to pummel all of you within an inch of your life!"

Hinata wove in and out of consciousness, barely able to understand the people around her as Ino and the girls exchanged more insults at each other.

"Upset because Kiba-sama turned you down again?" a girl taunted.

"None of your business, you – !" Ino screamed, punctuating her statement with a kick.

Hinata could barely see anything and she couldn't move an inch. She resented herself for being helpless once more. This happened again and it seemed that this time, Ino was the casualty. What would she give to have a normal life?

"HINATA!"

_Naruto-kun?_

She mustered the last of her strength to angle her head, looking at Naruto's stunned and livid face. Behind him was Sakura, who rushed over to where Ino was. With her was Sasuke, who looked angry.

And Sasuke was holding a white envelope which was obviously already opened.

**Her **white envelope.

_My confession… to Naruto-kun…_

For the second time today, she fainted.

* * *

**There. ;)**


	4. Chapter 4 - The Third Complication

**Second update!**

**Chapter 4**

The Third Complication

Breaking Pride

_6:50 AM_

Ten-ten yawned for about a hundredth time since she woke up. She was already finished preparing for classes and she was just about to do her hair. She was brushing her hair up, fixing it up in its usual dual bun style. Temari, her older sister, was lounging around in her room as always – a habit that she came to have since they were little children. She always came to check up on Ten-ten before going to school and they would chat about anything.

Today's topic was Hyuuga Neji.

"I don't even understand how you can tolerate him," Ten-ten said, looking at her sister through the mirror. She had been styling her hair for thirty minutes. Unlike what most people think, the buns that were her style were a pain in the ass to do every morning.

"And I don't understand why you wear your hair that way, Odango-sama," Temari teased, laughing. Ten-ten was miffed. She was often called that way by Temari and Kankurou. At least Gaara was more mature than their older siblings.

"Just dump Neji, nee-chan," Ten-ten grumbled. "I'm classmates with him and he really doesn't have a caring or kind bone in his body. He'd make a terrible husband."

"Who says that he's a fine catch?" Temari replied. "I didn't say he was and I don't like him. But it's not like I have a choice in the matter. Trust me, I tried fighting my way out of this."

"So you'd resort to seeing Shikamaru behind the scenes while pretending to be fine and dandy with Neji?"

Nara Shikamaru was, in fact, Temari's long-time boyfriend. Before the whole deal with the Hyuugas went down, Temari was engaged to the Nara – a clan of esteem and wealth who were doing regular business with the Sabakus. It was a nice match and everything was going smoothly until a gamble by their father turned ugly and they were forced to sell the company to the Hyuugas.

And that was where all the mess came in.

Temari got up from Ten-ten's bed. "So you're saying that you care what people will say about Neji? Mine taking another man on the side and all?"

Ten-ten rolled her eyes. "I don't care if the entire Hyuuga clan have their house burned down with them in it. All I'm saying is that you'll ruin your honor. Why don't you just tell Neji that you love someone else and let everything be over and done with?"

"Are you really that immature Ten-ten? You know our parents will lose what little they hold if I back out of this marriage!"

"But you won't be happy," Ten-ten said sadly, eyeing her sister in concern. "If you even see the way he looks and treats his twin, that Hinata, you would think that _he _had a weird incestuous crush on her."

Temari smiled gently. "Yeah I know that, but Hinata-chan is actually kind. You should get to know her better."

"Nope," Ten-ten said with finality, putting the brush that she had been holding down. "I can get Hiashi to like me though, right? And he'd switch to me instead of you. For Neji."

Temari shook her head, chuckling. "You know I love you, right? I won't ever let you take a sacrifice. If I can do something about it, I will. And besides, I'll learn to make the most out of it."

Ten-ten sighed. She knew that Temari will indeed make the most out of her situation, but Ten-ten didn't want her older sister to make the most out of anything. She wanted her to have the best of her life and to get it easily. She has always shielded her younger siblings from whatever it is that could potentially hurt them.

She knew that she was the one who was supposed to be engaged to Neji. She was of the same age as Neji. Temari was older than Neji and was already engaged by the time of the fiasco, but Hiashi took one look at Ten-ten and heard the way she fearlessly cursed him in front of other people that she decided that Temari was the better choice. And everyone knew that if it were up to Hyuuga Hiashi, he wouldn't want to sacrifice his only son to be married off to a family who were charity cases in his business game. However, he had no choice. The Sabaku siblings' father was a very cunning man. If he were to be given scraps out of the empire that he built, again, he wanted to _make the most out of it._

Neji was also a casualty in a bargain wherein the Hyuugas would never acquire their company if there wasn't some sort of insurance that they won't pull the rug from underneath the Sabakus. But he didn't fight his father. He had the same way of thinking as his twisted old man. He was fine with a marriage for convenience, as long as it helped his family in some way.

Unknown to everyone, Ten-ten already made up her mind about something.

It was a crafty yet tricky plan. She was sure that if the Hyuugas found out about this little scheme of hers, her head was to be put on the plate and she would truly be Odango-sama.

To get Hyuuga Neji's attention by loathing her so much that he'd go crazy. Then, he'll fall in love with her, opting him to choose her over Temari. And then, she would make the rest of his life miserable by being tied down to her. She would never grant him heirs and he would be stuck looking on miserably as the world passed him by.

She was that sadistic that she knew that she inherited that trait from her father. She would indeed make the most out of her situation if she married Neji. And there would be no greater pleasure and happiness in life for her than to see a Hyuuga weep in agony over his life.

She didn't know that she was smiling to herself when Temari tapped her on the shoulder.

"I know you, Ten-ten," Temari said, her eyes narrow as slits. "Don't even think about trying anything with Neji. You know what can happen and it'll just sink our family lower."

But Ten-ten merely grinned. "I wasn't thinking of anything like that, nee-chan. I was just imagining the way Neji's pretty little head will look inside a toilet."

Temari shuddered. "Sometimes I wonder where you get that side of yours."

"Remember, you have that too."

* * *

Neji tied his hair swiftly into a ponytail and walked out of his room. Hinata already left and Hanabi was still fast asleep. He could practically hear the maids forcing her out of the bed.

He shook his head in disdain. Their sister was a bit too irresponsible sometimes, but then again, he loved her.

He finally reached the dining table when his father's voice rang clear from the other end of the dining table.

"Where is Hinata?" Hiashi asked.

"She already left," Neji said. "Good morning, mother."

His mother smiled serenely at him and motioned for him to sit. Neji obeyed and slowly began to eat his meal.

"How is school?" Hiashi asked. "No one troubling you and your sister?"

"Everything is fine, father."

"Is she with Sasuke right now?"

"Yes."

"That's good," Hiashi commented, a satisfied smile on his face. "At least she's come to accept what we planned for her. She'll have a fine future being an Uchiha wife."

Neji frowned. "I'm sure she'll achieve more than that."

Hiashi ignored the jab and finished his meal. He excused himself and stood up, leaving a message to Neji saying, "Temari is going to visit later. Come back from school early."

"I will," Neji replied.

When his father left, his mother turned towards him and said, "Is Hinata okay?"

Neji nodded, not saying anything more.

"She's unhappy with Sasuke," she observed, knowing that she hit the bulls-eye. "She loves Naruto, doesn't she?"

Neji was shocked, but didn't let it show. He knew this long-standing affection that his twin had for the prince. However, it was so hard right now to simplify the situation. Naruto was still a knucklehead whom he thought didn't deserve his sister. But he made her happy in his unusual ways. And it irked Neji that Haruno Sakura seemed to have monopolized the blonde's attention that he was growing insensitive to Hinata's feelings. But he couldn't blame Naruto. He didn't even know a tiny bit of how Hinata felt about him.

"But Sasuke likes her. She should like him back, given time," Neji said.

"Don't be so sure about that," his mother said with a smile, getting up and leaving him to his own devices.

He proceeded out of the dining room, ignoring Hanabi's yawning 'good morning' and leaving as quickly as he could. He had a feeling that something odd or bad was going to happen today, he just couldn't put his finger on it.

He dialed a number but Hinata wasn't answering.

He tried Sasuke.

"Sasuke?" he said as he got into the limo. "Where is Hinata?"

"She just went to the toilet," Sasuke replied. "Why?"

"Nothing."

"Hn."

The line went dead.

Neji couldn't really place what his relationship with Sasuke was. Yes, he was his future brother-in-law, but other than that, not much. They knew each other since childhood, but Sasuke kept to himself. The only one he ever grew close with was Hinata and Naruto. He often bantered with Naruto and they kept a long-standing rivalry.

And what now if he found out that they were rivals in love too?

If only Hinata would be a bit more similar to him, Neji. But part of Hinata's charm and the reason why he loved his twin was that she was the buffer for the siblings. She acted as a healing balm after a stressful day or the doting sister with whom you vented your troubles with. But there was no one to take care of her if she was the one who was hurt. And god knows how strong Hinata was to be kind even though everyone around her treated her like shit.

That was why she put it upon herself to place Hinata in situations where she wouldn't be hurt and where she would be happy. He was doubtful if she would ever be happy if she married Sasuke, but as of now, there was nothing he could do about it.

If only Naruto would open his eyes.

His own life was none of his concern. All he knew was that he was marrying out of convenience too, not much better than Hinata. He wasn't even friends with Temari. He knew that her family secretly loathed his because of what his father did. But he didn't care. They offered their own daughter up as a pawn. It wasn't his decision to do so.

And it wasn't like Temari was bad. She was civil towards him and she was smart and beautiful. She was strong-willed too, but was more tempered compared to her younger sister, Sabaku Tenshi.

_That Ten-ten girl…_

She was plain in comparison to her sister, who had light blonde hair. If there was one thing in common between the two, it was the odd hairstyles. Ten-ten had brown hair like Kankurou, arranged in two buns at the top of her head. He remembered the way her brown eyes spit fires out of them when they stared at him during his class introduction. He remembered the arrogant way she introduced herself.

He was in no way what he considered as a Hyuuga wife.

And to think, she was the one he almost got engaged to.

If she were the one chosen, Neji would be in the fight of his life.

Neji mentally groaned. Their headaches might be considered funny from the perspective of ordinary kids. While most of the children in Konoha Gakuen were concerned with marriage interviews, current family business transactions, mergers, and such, other children were more concerned with passing their exams, getting in not-so-serious relationships, the latest fashion trends, and such. People within his circle in society were already thinking about their future and continuing their legacy rather than living it day to day like most.

"We're here, Neji-sama," the chauffeur said.

Neji waited for the door to be opened and he stepped outside.

The usual dull roar by the girls met him. Some were groaning disappointedly, wanting to know where Sasuke or Naruto was. Most girls were intimidated by him more than Sasuke and Naruto. Sasuke was cold, but his attitude made more girls more attracted to him. Also, the fact that he was engaged to Hinata made more girls want to steal him away. Naruto's rugged and carefree self made girls want to tame him or something like that.

Neji was by far the toughest nut to crack.

When he finally entered the classroom amidst all the turmoil, he spotted Hinata at once and moved towards her. She seemed to be worried and she was rummaging through the contents of her bag.

"Did you forget something?" Neji asked.

Hinata nearly leapt to her feet. "N-Neji-nii-san!"

Neji raised his eyebrows in question.

"I-I was just looking for an envelope," Hinata admitted.

"What envelope?"

"I was supposed to put some important notes in it," Hinata said, looking away. Neji knew in an instant that it was a lie but did not press further.

He noticed that Sasuke didn't react. Not that he expected him to because Sasuke was Sasuke and he rarely talked. But if Hinata was missing something, he would often jump at the chance to help her out.

"Have you finished that thing you've forgotten?" Neji inquired, sitting on his chair.

"Hai," Hinata said, shooting him a small smile before returning to her search.

Neji turned his head to face the front when a bag hit him directly on the face. Someone who passed by was idiotic enough to actually walk too close into his personal space.

"Oops! Sorry!"

The apology was so exaggerated that Neji didn't have to look at her to know who she was. Another day of torment from the woman from hell. He didn't even know why he put up with her. It was because it just wasn't in his gentlemanly DNA to throw a girl outside their school building window.

He ignored Ten-ten as she sat behind him. Neji resisted the urge to rub the side of his face, not wanting her to have the pleasure of seeing that he was hurt.

"Nee-chan says she can't come to your house later," Ten-ten said with a nasty edge to her tone. "She has to meet a friend."

Neji merely nodded, not wanting to continue the conversation any longer. Thankfully, he didn't have to. Kakashi-sensei was already there, preparing to check attendance.

* * *

"So you're saying that Anne Boleyn was a victim of her time rather than a usurper and opportunist as other people saw her?" Kakashi was saying, addressing Ten-ten.

For some, History is a tedious subject. It became more especially tedious when you talk about things that are outside of what you normally know.

English History was boring, and no one wanted to know about a monarch who married six times.

But for Ten-ten, History was a fascinating subject. It was one of the things that she actually took particular interest in. This was her zone, especially since they were talking about the Tudor era this time.

"Yes," Ten-ten said. "Women at that time were treated as baby machines, alive for the purpose of bearing heirs for powerful men. If they failed, they were automatically discarded, as if they don't have the chance to have more children. If you look at it, Henry VIII's obsession to have a male heir didn't give him enough patience to think that it was still early and there were more opportunities for Anne to be pregnant. And Anne was just a pawn in the game, if you look at it. She was strategically put in a position where she would have to be noticed by the King. She exploited his weaknesses and forced herself on the throne, thinking that being the Queen was the highest honor one could ever have. She was brainwashed."

"Fair point," Kakashi said. "But then again, don't you think that she was aware of the schemes going on between her father and her uncle?"

A hand shot up in the air. It was Neji. "No woman who is witless could have used her position effectively if they weren't aware of their situation in the first place. It's clear that Anne Boleyn was aware of that and she won't settle to be Henry's mistress. She wanted to be his wife, so that any offspring that they may have _would _be the heir to his throne, therefore granting her a bigger status of being the mother of a King. That was the penultimate goal of every Queen back in the day."

"I am not saying that Anne was witless," Ten-ten clarified, glaring at Neji. "All I was pointing out was that there are certain factors which didn't allow her to say no. First of all, there is an insane unwritten rule that we have to follow our family's wishes at all times for the betterment of yourself. Anne was fed the same horse crap. If she were to be the King's favorite, then she would be showered with favors beyond her wildest imaginations. Second of all, there is also that belief where strategic marriages elevate status and wealth. Anne was bewitched by that thought. Third of all, she was trapped in a false illusion of a prince and what he could offer that she didn't see the madman behind the mask of grandeur that Henry possessed."

"You've dug deep, Ten-ten, I'm impressed," Kakashi said.

"Excuse me, sir," Neji said, clearing his throat. "What my classmate fails to understand is that she's looking at things through stained glass. Anne was being unrealistic in the first place. She married above her station. If she were not so ambitious, she would have led a peaceful life if she settled for an alliance less than a King's. The marriage was doomed from the start because it is the law that Kings should marry Queens and Princesses, not mere ladies-in-waiting. Henry went against divine teaching and in a modern setting, it would have worked, but this is the medieval period, which Ten-ten-san seems to be forgetting."

"Well, Anne is a woman ahead of her time," Ten-ten argued, biting into Neji's insinuations. "And it's a shame that people back then were so backwards that they had to behead a woman looking forward."

"You're being too idealistic," Neji said arrogantly. "No one in their right mind would accept an unconventional way of thinking during medieval times. No one should expect that much. Even today, with everything moving so fast and change constantly hanging in the air, people still fear it. People still fear diversity. People still fear being left behind."

"With that, I actually agree," Ten-ten said. "Look at Konoha Gakuen, for instance. The students here still live within antiquated systems of belief within their families that it's not totally unlike Anne Boleyn's case. Marriages and unions are strategized. Territories are ceased. Parents dress their daughters up to match them with men with a higher or equal station. Everything is done to 'preserve the legacy'."

"As they should. The legacy is hard-earned," Neji countered.

"The legacy won't even survive if it were headed by people who loathed each other rather than actually care for each other," Ten-ten said. "Imagine the emotional damage on kids they might have and – "

"Hai, hai, we're getting a bit too off-topic and a little too personal here," Kakashi said amusedly. "Whatever personal grievances you two might have, you can take them outside after class. But those were good points, you two."

Ten-ten and Neji sat down, a bit disappointed at the sudden cut in conversation.

Neji was impressed. Ten-ten actually had a head inside those two dangos she calls a hairstyle.

"And now, let's go to Henry's third wife, Jane Seymour…" Kakashi said, walking around the class and calling out names.

Neji scribbled down notes silently when he heard someone grumble from behind him, "Anti-feminist pig."

Neji nearly laughed, but stopped himself. This Ten-ten girl just wouldn't give in, would she?

* * *

The bell rang, effectively signaling the end of morning classes. Neji was looking through the messages in his phone, one of which was from Itachi.

_Come and help out Sasuke with some arrangements. Will tell you the details later._

Count on Itachi to be vague about everything.

They talked to Hinata for a while, assuring that she was with someone during the lunch break. Fortunately, the Haruno and Yamanaka girl, along with Naruto, asked Hinata to join them. Even though Neji had doubts, he had no options left. He signaled Sasuke to go ahead of him as he left Naruto the number of Hinata's emergency contact - one of her guards.

He was walking along the corridors to follow Sasuke after ten minutes when Ten-ten put her feet in front of him to trip him in a childish way. When she failed, she stuck her tongue out at him. Neji didn't understand the immaturity of this particular Sabaku.

His phone suddenly rang.

"Where are you?" Sasuke said from the phone, seemingly pissed. Neji sometimes wanted to berate Sasuke for being so impatient. He hadn't even waited for more than fifteen minutes.

"I just had to take care of something," Neji answered. "Where are you?"

"Near the school entrance. We're already late."

"On my way."

* * *

"You're late," Itachi said, seated on an ornate chair in a café which he owned.

"Sorry," Neji said, smiling. "I had to take care of some things."

"Girl troubles?" Itachi asked in amusement.

"Just because you're married, doesn't mean that everything that other people do is related to relationships and such," he retorted.

"You're also engaged, though," the elder Uchiha quipped.

"What did you bring us here for?" Sasuke said, interrupting the banter.

Itachi looked at his younger brother. "Why are you so grumpy today, Sasuke? You're actually grumpier than usual."

Neji said nothing. He was right in thinking that there was something wrong with Sasuke.

"You're what's wrong," Sasuke snapped. "Just tell me what's this thing you'll tell us about."

"Want to hurry back to Hinata?" Itachi asked. But he didn't press further when Sasuke was about to move away. "Anyway, I'm here to actually tell you guys that you have an important part in my first wedding anniversary with Haruko."

"What?!" Sasuke exclaimed. "You mean to say you dragged us all the way here just to plan for some stupid surprise for Haruko?"

"Sasuke," Neji said warningly. He was being irrationally angry and impatient. Something was definitely up.

Itachi ignored his younger brother. "Anyway, I need to give you these plans that I've drawn up. I want it to be really special and I want you to tell Hinata too, okay, Neji?"

"Alright," Neji replied.

"That's all," Itachi said, clapping his hands together.

Neji knew that it took all of Sasuke's restraint not to punch Itachi in the face. The older Uchiha was indeed eccentric. No one would ever dare to drag Neji and Sasuke out of school and leave Hinata alone just for something so trivial.

Neji's phone rang. He immediately answered it.

"What is it, Naruto?"

"Hinata fainted!" Naruto spluttered, nearly busting Neji's eardrum. "I'm sorry! I was just asking her who that person was she liked! Don't tell teme but it seems that Hinata is in love with someone else. She fainted when I asked her about it and - !"

Before Naruto could finish, Neji already cut the line, cursing out loud.

"What was that?" Sasuke asked, getting inside the limo.

"Hurry back to school," Neji commanded the driver curtly, his heart racing. "Hinata fainted."

"What?" Sasuke said, frowning deeply.

"Naruto," was all Neji's reply was.

The two remained silent for a while, anxious to reach their destination. It was a sudden impulse that drove Neji to ask, "You're in a foul mood because of Hinata."

Sasuke shook his head, as if expecting him to ask. "I will never be in a foul mood because of her."

Neji knew that he was telling the truth, but there was something there. He knew better than to push.

When they finally arrived at Konoha Gakuen, they ran to the clinic, where they found five people inside.

Hinata was on the bed, her face red and her mouth set in an odd smile that made Neji blanch. It was unusual seeing her like this, but she was quite unexpected when it came to all things Naruto.

On the bed, sitting near her feet was Haruno Sakura. She looked from Neji to Sasuke in an instant, turning away almost at the same time. Her emerald eyes were focused intensely on Hinata but Neji knew that she was only trying her hardest to ignore a certain someone's presence. Neji's perceptiveness caught the fact that the headmistress' granddaughter had a thing going on for Uchiha Sasuke.

Standing near Sakura was the girl named Ino. From what Neji recalled, she was a member of the Yamanaka noble clan and that she was also a celebrity. She was smiling apologetically at them and she spoke, before letting Naruto grovel at their feet,

"There was no harm, no bruise," Ino said. "She just had a fainting spell. She's not used to the sun that much, huh?"

Neji just nodded, knowing that the lame excuse wasn't true. Ino didn't have to hide the reason. He knew above everyone else why Hinata acted the way she did.

"I knew she should have come with us," Sasuke said. "If Itachi wasn't stupid enough to drag us out of here for no good reason, this wouldn't have happened. Leave it to the dobe to mess things up."

Naruto, who was standing beside a surprised Tsunade immediately went face-to-face with Sasuke. "I dare you to say that again, teme, and I'll beat you within an inch of your life."

"You could do that?" Sasuke retorted.

Tsunade cleared her throat. "Dare each other one more time to fight and I will personally put you two in your graves."

The two boys fell silent, a feat that was rare to be seen. Leave it to Tsunade to actually threaten the most intimidating of men to rubble. She was indeed scary, and there were aspects of her that Sakura had inherited.

"Now, let Hinata rest for a while," Tsunade continued. "Ino's right. You guys should go to your class seeing as you're already late."

"I'll stay with her, Tsunade-baa-chan," Naruto said. Neji's mouth opened in shock at Naruto's total lack of respect. Surprisingly, Tsunade didn't beat Naruto up for using one of the words that actually pissed her off.

"I'll stay too," Sakura said. "Only for a little bit. We'll just attend Anko-sensei's class."

Ino nodded in agreement.

"You two," Tsunade said, pointing at Neji and Sasuke. "Go to class."

Sasuke was about to protest when he was practically dragged out of the room by Neji. "Come on," he said. "We'll just come back for Hinata later. She'll be fine in no time."

When they arrived in class, Biology with Kabuto-sensei was almost done. Thankfully, the teacher didn't give them any homework and just told them to prepare their dissecting tools and lab gowns tomorrow.

The class didn't fail to notice that Hinata, Sakura, Ino, and Naruto were missing. Neji and Sasuke were late and people didn't dare approach them for answers.

"Oy, Hyuuga," a gruff voice said two seats behind Neji.

"What?" he replied, looking at Inuzuka Kiba.

"Where're the others?"

Neji thought about it for a moment. He wasn't exactly close with Kiba nor would he consider calling him a friend. But he was fine, by people standards. He certainly didn't approach them in want of something. He also didn't appear to be intimidated by their group.

"Just an emergency," he replied vaguely.

Thankfully, Kiba didn't press further and just nodded. He wouldn't have the opportunity anyway since Anko-sensei already entered the class with the usual announcement of a pop quiz that made everyone groan.

* * *

Neji stood up from his seat when the bell rang once more, indicating that classes were over. He was packing his things when he heard Sakura complaining about the injustice of Anko's detention.

"I haven't had detention, ever!" Sakura was saying. He looked around and saw that she was talking to Ten-ten.

"Lucky you," the Sabaku girl was saying. "I've had detention almost every other month."

Neji smirked. _Count on her to be so brash. She doesn't follow regulations very well. _"That's because you have no sense of restraint."

He was sure that he struck a nerve. A book suddenly whizzed past his head which he dodged easily.

"And you need to restrain your arrogant mouth," she spat at him.

Neji was furious. He had had enough. There was no way that he would let her walk all over him any longer. He had been patient and answering for the past three months, but even he had his limits.

He followed her as she walked rapidly down the corridors. When he finally caught up to her, she was already descending the staircase.

He pulled her back by the arm but it seemed that she wasn't hurt by the force he applied.

She looked at him squarely in the eye without flinching, as if expecting the assault. She didn't back down even though he was a good deal taller than her – about a head or so.

"What?" she said calmly, her eyes speaking volumes.

"Leave me and my family alone," Neji said, not letting go of her arm.

"Funny you should say that," Ten-ten said, her free hand coming up to her chin and scratching it thoughtfully. "Your family should have done exactly what you said."

"It's not my fault that your father is failing in his business."

"He was not! You just exploited a momentary weakness!" Ten-ten spat back.

"He's still lying to his kids, huh?" Neji said, smirking. "Unlike you innocent children, my father actually involves me in his business. I know the ins and outs of our corporation and I know all mergers that happened and why. I've been monitoring the incorporation of your family's business to ours from the very beginning and I understand everything. So, you should start knowing everything before spouting nonsense. You're such a child."

Ten-ten shook her arm out of Neji's gasp. "I don't need to know everything to know the fact that you destroyed my family's life. I don't care what mistakes my father made. What I care about is that it's affecting my sister. She can't be happy with you around."

Neji chuckled, but his laugh did not reach his eyes. "What sort of child do you think your sister is? She's quite mature for her age and she is infinitely wiser than you. She understands that she can't get everything her way and I respect her for that. You, on the other hand…"

"So that's what your family does huh? Dictate the fate of others? Treat us like playthings?"

"No one can escape what they were destined with."

Ten-ten smiled coldly. "Like your sister? Hinata-hime huh? She can't seem to have much of an option. She's stuck with that Uchiha brat no matter what. That's what your father wants, eh? What about her little feelings towards Naruto?"

Neji growled, immediately pulling her away from her current position and pushing her towards an empty classroom.

"Shut your mouth," Neji growled. "Leave Hinata out of this."

"You should really stop sheltering her," Ten-ten said with amusement. "She'll rebel, you know. She would fight her way out of your grasp. She's too different."

"I know who she is more than you do. And I'll always fight for her happiness," Neji said through gritted teeth. "Don't go near her."

"What a weird setup you two have," Ten-ten said, moving slowly towards Neji. He could feel cold sweat dripping from along his back. There was something about the way Ten-ten moved and the way she uttered those words that made him hot inside. He knew that the airconditioning was on and it had absolutely nothing to do with the weather.

"I have a proposition, though," Ten-ten said, a mere few inches from him.

Her brown eyes were like chocolate wells drawing him in. They were enticing and now Neji realized that there was nothing plain about Ten-ten. She was scarier than Temari or any other person she met. She could use innocence to draw you in, then pounce. She made you think that she didn't think twice before speaking, but now it seemed that there was a purpose to every word that she said. Every action had a meaning, and she wasn't thoughtless.

She reminded him of her brother, Gaara – silently observing and calculating.

And she was using her feminine wiles which he previously deemed nonexistent effectively.

"What is it?" he said, not allowing himself to lose.

"Drop your engagement with Temari," she said, almost breathless.

"And why would I do that? I never go against my father's commands."

"You won't lose the deal with our company. You'll get another Sabaku when you lose Temari."

Neji's eyes widened and he couldn't suppress a chuckle from escaping his mouth. "You mean you? You're asking me to drop Temari and be engaged to you?"

"Yes," Ten-ten said without hesitation.

"My father would refuse."

"Not if I could convince him."

"How do you know that you can?" Neji asked, intrigued.

"Because I seem to be convincing you," Ten-ten replied confidently.

"You're pretty sure of yourself. And why would you risk so much?"

"Because I don't care about marriage and all that sappy shit," Ten-ten said in a matter-of-fact tone. "All I want is for my family to be happy. Temari's happiness lies in her freedom to choose with whom she wants to marry in the future. She's happier with Nara Shikamaru."

"That's why I gave her the luxury of continuing her sordid affair with him," Neji said, ignoring the surprised look on Ten-ten's face. "I know all about it."

"Then you should just let her go," Ten-ten said. "Give her freedom. You were supposed to be engaged to me anyway. It's a win-win situation."

Neji looked at her, searching her eyes. They seemed wide, selfless, and innocent. It was as if she was only doing this for her sister's sake.

But he knew that there was something so much more…

"You want to make my life a living hell?" he asked, knowing that it was the truth.

Ten-ten just giggled, sidestepping him and was about to go out.

He suddenly pulled her, crashing her back against the wall.

His face was suddenly inches from her, her body flush against his. Ten-ten couldn't breathe and it seemed that at this moment, he had the upper hand.

She didn't expect him to be this aggressive or scary.

"I accept," he said, whispering in her ear and earning an involuntary shudder from her small frame. "Only, I also promise… to make your life a living hell."

Ten-ten suppressed the urge to swallow audibly. His scent was heady and his cologne was making her dizzy. She was staring directly into his eyes as he moved back and a part of her – her treacherous self – wanted to know what it felt like to have those lips on hers.

Neji's phone suddenly rang.

He abruptly moved away, leaving Ten-ten in a panting mess. He walked out of the classroom as if nothing happened.

He walked swiftly from the deserted classroom, trying to make sense of what just happened. He returned to the classroom to find Sasuke sorting some papers there, apparently waiting for him. Before he could even talk to him so that they could try to pick up Hinata, however, two teachers entered the room.

It was Yamato-sensei and Kurenai-sensei.

"Neji," Kurenai said, approaching the male Hyuuga. "Where is Hinata?"

"She's in the clinic, sensei," Neji replied.

Kurenai frowned in concern. "Is she alright?"

"She'll be fine. Tsunade-sama is taking care with her along with our friend, Naruto," Neji assured her. It was great that Hinata had a teacher close to her like Kurenai-sensei. She was almost like a second parent.

"Well, tell her to meet me at the faculty room," Kurenai said. "I have something to give to her."

A group of girls laughed behind Neji and he shot them a death glare because of the noise they created. They quickly apologized and went outside.

"You really should stop doing that if you want to have a girlfriend, Neji," Kurenai said jokingly.

"Anyway," Yamato-sensei suddenly interjected. "Sasuke, will you go check up on the girls in the detention room later? I'm sure Kakashi-san left you some tasks to do as class rep and you'll be staying late. I have to run an errand and Anko-san dumped some extra work for me that I can't manage until later. Just try to keep them in line or collect their work if they're done. I'll be back as soon as I can."

Sasuke nodded. Kurenai and Yamato thanked the two of them and immediately went off.

"See you later," Sasuke said, leaving the room without another word.

Neji proceeded towards the clinic, trying to find Hinata. When he arrived, there were no people there, except for the nurse.

The nurse looked up and saw Neji. She immediately deduced that he was related to the patient because of his eyes. "Hinata-san already left."

"Was she with the blonde boy? Naruto?" Neji asked, a bit worried.

"No," the nurse replied. "He went out ten minutes earlier than he did. He said something about meeting with Anko-sensei."

_Great. That damn Naruto heard that he was about to have a week's worth of detention and went to talk his way out of it instead of making sure that Hinata was alright._

"Where did she go?" Neji inquired again.

"Why don't you call her, dear?" the nurse suggested. "She didn't mention anything to me."

Neji just nodded and rummaged in his pocket for his phone. He speed dialed Hinata.

To his relief, she answered.

"Neji-nii-san? What is it?"

"Where are you, Hinata? Kurenai-sensei was looking for you."

"A-ahh… hehe, I already know that. A classmate told me that she was looking for me. She said that Kurenai-sensei needed to see Asuma-sensei for something important," Hinata said. "I'm just looking for him. After I'm done, we can meet at the school gates, okay?"

"Alright," Neji said, relieved to know that she was in good condition.

As he went back to their classroom to wait for Hinata, he spotted Sasuke slamming Naruto against the wall near the lockers. Thankfully, it was already late and there were no people in that area.

"You should do something about this dobe," Sasuke said fiercely, his eyes literally trying to murder Naruto.

"What are you talking about?!" Naruto spat back. "Stop talking in riddles and give it to me straight!"

"You don't know a thing, do you?" the Uchiha growled, tightening his hold on Naruto's collar. In his right hand was a crumpled white envelope. "About how Hinata feels?"

"What about it? What about Hinata's feelings?" Naruto asked. "Is she alright? All that I know is that she doesn't love you, but that doesn't mean you should go around attacking people because of that!"

Sasuke released a cold laugh. "You don't deserve her, Naruto. You never will. I see that now."

He released Naruto and was off, apparently to the detention room where Yamato assigned him to go. Neji was floored.

_Sasuke knows the truth._

Now it was a question of whether he would break the engagement or just move on with it. But from what he said to Naruto, it was clear that he wasn't ready to go down without a fight.

The blonde boy stood there for a couple of minutes before walking down the same path that Sasuke took. Neji wasn't sure how long he was standing in his hiding place before he decided to go look for Hinata again. Knowing that she was looking for Asuma, she might be near the gym.

After twenty minutes of fruitlessly searching for her, a pair of hurried footsteps was heard nearing him. He turned around and saw Ten-ten, looking ruffled and flushed. She stopped before him and clutched the stitch of her stomach, trying to catch her breath.

"I thought you already went home," Neji said, a humorless edge in his voice. "Can't wait to tell Temari that you got her out of her bind or something."

Despite her apparent state of exhaustion, Ten-ten glared at him and said, "Hinata… she's… in trouble!"

Neji paled. "Where?!"

"Gym…" was all Ten-ten could manage before Neji ran off.

* * *

**Hope you like it. ;)**


	5. Chapter 5 - The Fourth Complication

**Third update!**

**Chapter 5**

The Fourth Complication

Breaking Bad

"Come on, Akamaru!"

Inuzuka Kiba laughed, taking his soaked shirt off and throwing the bright yellow Frisbee for Akamaru to catch. The white dog barked happily and wagged its tail as it pelted after the toy. A couple of seconds later, it returned with the Frisbee between its teeth, waiting for another batch of treats and a pat from his master.

"Good boy," Kiba said, grinning broadly.

One of the perks of being an idol was that he had to move away from the province and come to the city. His family preferred living in seclusion while he had no choice but to move. Now, he lived in a penthouse suite of the best condominium complex in Konohagakure, an entire floor to himself. It had a spacious lawn where he could play with Akamaru, all the while being careful not to throw too far for risk of letting his dog jump about a hundred floors below.

The best thing about this was that there was no mother or sister to nag you. Tsume and Hana were the best women in the world and they kept Kiba in line. However, being a free spirit, he wanted to channel his artistic side in a way where no one will try to limit it. He had a maid and a cook for all other purposes and they lived with him, but they mostly stayed out of his way. The only one meddlesome enough to keep him in check was his very own childhood friend, former bandmate, and manager, Aburame Shino.

"Kiba."

_Speak of the devil._

"You should be getting ready for school," Shino said, his entire being hidden behind his usual overwhelming jacket and the scary shades.

"I am ready," Kiba said. "I was just playing with Akamaru for a little bit."

"You plan on going to school smelling like a dog?"

Kiba grimaced. "I already took a bath. I always take a bath with Akamaru."

Shino sighed. "If you insist."

Kiba chuckled and finally obeyed what Shino said. He wasn't going to be too difficult this morning. Oh no. He was in such a good mood to mess up others' lives.

_Well, except her._

"You look happy," Shino commented as they entered his room.

"I should be," Kiba replied. "My album just hit the number one spot for the fourth week in a row. It's an amazing feat."

Shino nodded in agreement. "But you're happy about something else entirely."

Kiba grinned. He just couldn't hide stuff from Shino. After three months of absolute secrecy, he reckoned that it was time that Shino knew what he was up to.

"Do you remember that girl I told you about when we were young?" Kiba asked.

Kiba couldn't see it, but he knew that Shino was frowning in contemplation. "Kiba," he said in his baritone voice. "There are plenty of girls that you talked about in all the years I've known you. Be more specific."

"Shut up," Kiba grumbled. "Yamanaka Ino, I mean."

Shino didn't react, causing Kiba to ruffle his hair in frustration.

"Don't you remember her? The Yamanakas, the clan we used to work for when we were still in the province!" Kiba explained. "Remember? The Inuzukas lived to serve them and well, before my mom and my sister were just freelancers in the film industry because they thought that their main duty was with the Yamanakas."

"I know who they are Kiba, and I remember Ino," Shino said. "I'm just puzzled as to why you bring her up now after all these years."

_Maybe because I can't get her off my mind?_

_Shut up, Kiba._

"Well, I found her," Kiba said, his evil grin masking all the turmoil inside of him.

"Found her?"

"She's been my classmate for the past three months in Konohagakure," Kiba stated triumphantly. "Just my luck, ne?"

"It's possible that you've found her because she's famous, Kiba," Shino said, his voice still deadpan. "You can't possibly have chosen Konoha Gakuen just to stalk her. I thought you chose it because it was the best environment for someone famous like you."

Kiba reddened considerably. "I _am not _stalking her!"

"Then what is it that you want?" Shino inquired. "I know for a fact that Ino rejected you when you were younger just because you were not of the same stature as her. You were her servant Kiba, what do you expect? Do you think she'll be someone who'll risk her position and her reputation for someone like you? Grow up. Life isn't like the songs you write and the roles you portray."

Kiba turned away. "You didn't know her," he said in a low voice. "Not like I did."

"And what do you mean by that?"

"She would have thrown away everything just to be with the man she loved. And she made me believe that. Only… she fooled me."

_Twelve years old._

_A pretty early time to be in love._

"_Ino!"_

_The blonde did not move from the side of the lake. She had been sitting there for nearly thirty minutes now, staring into the unknown. She kept throwing rocks every now and then, watching them skip idly as time passed her by. She liked the silence even though everyone said that she'd rather die than be trapped in it. She was loud and outspoken. But it didn't matter what other people said. She loved the quiet._

"_Ino!"_

_Her knees were soaked in the water and it was obvious that they would be pruning by now. She hated it when a single part of her body wasn't perfect. So, why now? Why intentionally prune herself? It seems shallow, but it was important to her._

"_INO!"_

_She wasn't surprised at all. It seemed that she heard the first and the second time she was called. She just didn't want to turn._

_Typical Ino._

_Her long mane of blonde hair fell gracefully around her face and down her back. It wasn't in its usual ponytail. Instead, it just fell artfully all about her. As usual, her right eye was hidden behind a long array of bangs. But her eyes weren't any less blue as the sky. They regarded her caller with amusement, as her lips twisted up slightly in a smile. She looked every bit like a princess – with her purple kimono adorned with pink flowers._

"_What do you want, Kiba?" she asked, her sweet voice._

_Kiba scratched the back of his head in embarrassment. "You escaped from my sight again, Ino," he said. "Mother will kill me if I lose sight of you again."_

_Ino giggled. "Then don't lose sight of me again."_

"_But you did it on purpose."_

_Ino nodded. "I just wanted to be alone."_

_Kiba looked at her, concerned. "Do you want me to leave you for a while? I'll just go hide or something."_

_Ino laughed – a laugh that made Kiba want to listen to it forever. "You sound like a dog than a guard, Kiba."_

"_Shut up," Kiba growled. He knew that he was only allowed to talk to her and address her in such a way when they were alone. He relished these moments when they were alone. She was her true self and he could be anyone he wanted to be._

_He could even be someone she could fall in love with._

"_Kiba," Ino said. "What will you do when you're being forced to do something you don't want to do?"_

"_Fight," Kiba replied instantaneously._

_Ino laughed once more. "But you'll lose everything."_

"_I could lose everything for happiness."_

"_You were always so straightforward and brave," Ino commented affectionately. "But that's not me."_

"_What do you mean?" Kiba asked. "You're brave too!"_

_Ino shook her head. "I'm not. I'm nothing without my name and money. If I lose my privileges, I don't know what to do with my life."_

"_I'll take care of you," Kiba promised. For a scruffy boy with unruly brown hair and untidy clothing, Kiba struck Ino as an impressive figure capable of doing the things that he promised._

_Ino blushed slightly and looked down at her reflection in the lake. "I'm not up to anything, Kiba. I love my life and I can't bear to part with it. I actually like being rich, you know."_

_Kiba smiled wryly. Leave it to Ino to be self-absorbed. "What are they making you do?"_

_Ino sucked in a breath. "Marry someone in the future."_

_Kiba almost fell down in shock. "You mean you had a marriage interview?"_

_It was typical to have marriage interviews at this point in time when you're from a noble clan. He just… he just couldn't picture the strong-willed Ino to be the one to do it._

"_W-who is it?" Kiba asked, dreading the answer. He could almost hear his own heart failing._

"_Nara Shikamaru," Ino replied._

"_Do you like him?"_

_Ino looked away. "I've known him since we were little. Do you remember him?"_

_Of course he does. The lazy genius who often told Ino that she was loudmouthed and troublesome._

"_Yes," he answered, the word leaving a bitter taste in his mouth._

"_I like him," Ino replied. "I think you noticed that. The way I tried to catch his attention. But all he thinks of me is that I'm too troublesome."_

_Kiba's world seemed to sink in a chasm filled with black water. He couldn't breathe and he couldn't speak. He couldn't even see everything clearly. Ino was like a blur in front of him. He shouldn't even be feeling this way. He shouldn't… it was much to early. It was much too soon. He didn't even get to tell her that – _

"_I love you!" Kiba exploded, looking at Ino with wild eyes._

_Blue eyes clashed with brown. Ino's eyes were as wide as saucers, regarding him with surprise and something more which he couldn't name._

"_W-what? But how…?" she stammered after a while, still staring at him with disbelief._

"_I don't know how, okay?" Kiba answered, looking away. "You really don't know how, when, where, why… when you fall in love, that is."_

_Ino didn't speak, and it shook Kiba to the core._

"_I know I'm not some nobleman from a famous or rich clan. Heck, we've sworn to serve the Yamanakas our entire lifetime for generations now," he said, following his heart. "I'm not a genius nor do I say that things are too troublesome for my attention. I care about you and I don't care if you boss me around or be as loudmouthed as you can. I love you for who you are Ino. I don't care if you're rich or if you grow old and go bald. I'll love you for as long as I live."_

"_Kiba…" Ino said, her eyes brimming with tears._

"_You don't have to answer me yet," he said. "Just give me a chance. And I'll fight for you."_

_Ino smiled brightly and nodded, hugging Kiba._

* * *

"Do you really want to be single forever?"

Yamanaka Inoichi was surveying his only child who was currently putting on make-up in front of her vanity mirror. She had begrudged his father for trying repeatedly to go in her room without her permission every morning but she just learned to get used to it. Her father was a nosy man who seemed to be able to read her like an open book. He knew that something was troubling her.

"Ino," Inoichi said, losing his patience. "Why will you not accept the offer of the Nara clan?"

Ino put her brush down and whipped around, staring at her father angrily. "Because you know that won't happen! Shikamaru is dating someone else!"

Inoichi paled. "What? Who?!"

Ino clucked her tongue and stood up. "Really, dad? It's Temari!"

"Temari? But isn't she already engaged to Hyuuga Neji?"

"Yes, but I won't be a damper to anybody's romantic life by being engaged to Shikamaru. And besides, I don't love him," Ino said, walking around her father.

"But I thought…" Inoichi said, trying to knock some sense into his daughter.

"I did! Alright dad? I _did. _I _was _in love with Shikamaru," Ino said, facing his father. There were tears gathering around her clear blue eyes. "But I gave up! I realized that whenever I look into Shikamaru's eyes. I'll never be worthy for him. I'll never be good enough for him. I won't spend the rest of my life convincing a guy who's already made up their mind about me! I won't be feeling shitty about myself 'til death do us part, okay?"

With that, Ino left, leaving Inoichi in a state where he finally understood where his daughter was coming from.

Ino was furious. She was so sick and tired of being dogged by her father to accept the union. It was true. She wasn't in love with him anymore. She had dropped Shikamaru years ago. When he finally started dating Temari, it was all over and done with. She finally accepted that she wasn't the woman for him.

And all along she knew that. She knew that she didn't want to be with him.

She was a sucker for guys who thought of her as shit.

And now, she was pining for some guy who won't even look at her. It was actually much worse than her state with Shikamaru.

Shikamaru talked to her and he actually said stuff to her whenever she wasn't mooning over him. They would joke around once in a while and Ino could say that they were friends.

But this current guy…

They weren't even acquaintances of some sort! The only common denominator they had was that they were classmates. Ino could even forget that he sat next to her. It was like he… or she… wasn't there.

_Inuzuka Kiba._

Who was Inuzuka Kiba? Ino had plenty of answers to that. He was Konohagakure's number one idol. He was first known as the lead singer of the group _Bandai. _Then he was cast in several commercials where he showed potential in acting. He moved up the ranks of showbusiness and landed his first television role at the age of 14. Then he was the main role in a blockbuster hit when he was 16. He was then listed as the youngest person to be included in the richest people in Konohagakure and all of it was self-made. He had it all and everyone loved him. It didn't hurt that he was incredibly handsome.

He was ruggedly handsome and Ino had to admit that at first, that wasn't her type. She usually went for pretty boys and cool ones. Kiba was unruly and a pretentious rule-breaker. He was far from conventional with his red face tattoos and his spiky brown hair. His eyes spoke mischief and his body was to die for. He was very candid in his dealings with both press and fans. People wanted a piece of him and it seemed that he was very willing to give them away.

Ino thought that it was mere admiration that she had for him. But when she found out that he was going to school at Konoha Gakuen and she actually met him, she found out that there was more to him that what he showed whenever he was in the spotlight.

Kiba wasn't as candid as she thought he was. He wasn't transparent at all and he mostly kept to himself. Once in a while, he would hang out with Neji, Sasuke, and Naruto. They were all transferees and they figured that they should stick together. It was unlike the other three to accept new money in their group, but Kiba seemed to be okay with them. The way he held himself didn't make Ino think that he was from humble beginnings as what he had stated during an interview.

And there was something eerily familiar about Kiba. It wasn't just the way he looked and acted… it was his name…

It was like a memory long forgotten. It was hazy and it was as if the more she tried to remember, the more it got blurry. It was like someone or something was hindering her from remembering.

When did she fall in love with Kiba exactly? She didn't know. She knew that she admired him because of his achievements and she wanted him to mentor her for her acting gigs. But for it to develop into something this big and dangerous, she didn't know. She didn't want to be grouped with those weird stalker girls who just went crazy for men they haven't even met and known. Somehow, she knew that she _knew _Kiba.

Why did she fall in love with Kiba exactly? She didn't know. Perhaps it was because he was unconventional. He was new to her. He was what she wanted to be. She wanted him to notice her but he didn't. Then again, as she realized, she had a weakness for guys who thought she wasn't worth two cents.

How did she fall in love with Kiba exactly? She didn't know. It just happened. It was the way he stared at her every once in a while when he thought she wasn't looking. It was as if he was longing for something. It was as if he wanted to say something but was unable to. It was as if he was lost and didn't really know how to belong. He had a certain vulnerability that he wasn't willing to show. But she saw right through it.

And boy was she persistent. She asked him to hang out with her a few times already. Whenever there were functions, she would ask him to be her date. She would try to get a picture with him or for him to even sign something that she owned. But the answer was always 'no.'

"_Do you want to come and have lunch with us, Kiba-kun?"_

"_No."_

"_Hey, the opening ceremony ball is coming up, do you want to be my date?"_

"_No."_

"_I'm going for karaoke with Sakura and Naruto, wanna come with?"_

"_No."_

"_I was the first one to order your album, did you know that? I had it on pre-order and I was listening to your covers when you weren't even mainstream yet. Can I get your signature on this?"_

"_No."_

"_So, you're doing a photo shoot for an ad campaign on anti-piracy, right? Can I tag along and watch?"_

"_No."_

It was always no.

Ino wanted to kill herself for being such a masochist. What in the world possessed her to be so in love with this asshole? He wasn't even worth her time! She was beautiful and smart, dammit! Many men wanted to date her, but she constantly turned them down. She wanted challenges. She wanted puzzles. She wanted games.

She wanted Kiba.

She finally reached school and she knew that she was late. She was about to enter the building when the bell suddenly rang, prompting her to run in a breakneck pace.

BAM!

The wind was knocked out of Ino as she bumped into something hard and solid. She gathered her bearings and looked up, shocked to see Kiba still standing and looking at her with an expression she could only read as disgust.

"Sorry!" Ino said frantically, praying to the gods above that she wasn't red in the face.

She gathered her things quickly and was about to get up when Kiba said, "Try not to kill someone next time."

When she turned around, he was already gone.

_Did he just talk to me?_

So finally, Kiba said something to Ino that wasn't 'no.'

But it still wasn't endearing. Not that she expected anything less from Inuzuka Kiba.

Arriving at the classroom, she noticed that she probably wasn't the only one having a bad day. The classroom wasn't as noisy as what she was originally accustomed to. Added to the fact that some very important people seem to be sulkier than ever.

Sakura, her own best friend, was twirling a pen between her fingers and looking straight at the black board. This was one of the indications that she was in the middle of cracking into one of life's greatest mysteries or she was fantasizing about Sasuke.

Ino didn't have to wonder for long because Sakura's green eyes flitted to the side for a second when Sasuke spoke to Hinata.

Ino sighed. She wanted to tell Sakura to drop it but she wasn't exactly the shining beacon of inspiration when it came to the romance department right now. Being in love with douchebags was kind of one of the reasons why she and Sakura were best friends. It was something they had in common.

She decided to sidestep Sakura this morning and leave her to her own conventions for a while. She wasn't in the mood for advice giving anyway. She headed straight to her seat where Kiba was already placed next to it, a group of girls surrounding him. It was a daily ritual for them.

"Yesterday was really fun, Kiba-sama," a girl with sea-green hair said, giggling outrageously.

_So you hang out with other girls but not with me? _

Ino wanted to bury the girl's face against the wall. Her laughter was just so annoying. So Ino did the most rational thing she could do. She pulled out her IPod from her bag and listened to some music.

After five minutes, Kakashi-sensei entered the classroom.

One of the things that Ino liked about this teacher was that he picked people to torment with questions for the entire period and the rest of the class was free to either express their opinions voluntarily or ignore the lecture completely.

Ino just wasn't in the mood to join the sexual tension rubbing between Ten-ten and Neji. She never got used to the idea of threesomes and she'd rather listen to some good tunes.

And lo, behold. It was a song by Bandai.

Kiba sang, played the guitars, and wrote the song himself – that much she knew.

And the title was, "My Little Mermaid."

_Blue eyes, golden hair,_

_Brush it off without care,_

_Everyone says they know her secrets,_

_But I'm the person who knows her regrets._

Ino loved this song. She closed her eyes for a while and let her bangs fall smoothly down her eyes. She positioned her pen on the paper and began to write. Kakashi-sensei would think that she was taking down notes. But in reality, she was writing a story.

It was one of Ino's secret passions – writing. She wanted to write a screenplay someday. Right now, she was suddenly struck by inspiration.

A girl with blonde hair and blue eyes, sitting by the edge of a lake. A boy approaching her from behind, asking her about her troubles.

"Ow…" Ino suddenly said, her left hand abruptly going to the side of her head where an old injury suddenly worked up.

Her hand briefly touched the rough ridges of old stitches, her mouth upturning. There it was again. The pain.

She felt nauseated.

_So much that I love her,_

_I always knew she was my girl,_

_But she's already gone,_

_Went away to the unknown._

_My little mermaid,_

_She had me unmade,_

_My little mermaid,_

_It was all a charade,_

_My little mermaid,_

_Brought my heart up for trade,_

_My little mermaid,_

_She's the price that I paid._

_She had me at 'hi',_

_Still got me with 'goodbye',_

_She taught me what love is,_

_And crushed me just like this._

Ino felt hot tears flowing down her face. Before she knew it, drops were already blotting her notebook, effectively smudging a paragraph she already wrote.

If there was one thing Bandai's album told her, it was that Kiba fell in love.

He fell in love hard.

And that somehow, that girl he fell in love with dumped him. Ino could feel his heartbreak through the song that she just knew that no insensitive bastard could have written such lyrics.

The more she listened, the more she fell in love with the boy beside her.

* * *

"Ow…"

Kiba turned sideways to look at Ino. Her entire hair was shielding her face. Her left hand was brought up to the left side of her head, seemingly massaging it. It was obvious that she was in pain.

_What's wrong with her?_

Kiba shook his head. He shouldn't be concerned. It was clear that Ino wasn't paying attention because e noticed that she plugged her earphones in before Kakashi entered the room.

His gaze shifted back to Neji and Ten-ten. Seriously, he could offer up his condo unit to these two just for them to release the sexual tension. He suppressed a chuckle when,

"My little mermaid,

She had me unmade,

My little mermaid,

It was all a charade…"

Kiba turned his neck so fast that he was afraid he almost broke it. The voice was sweet and poignant and was singing _his _lyrics.

The voice was so unmistakably Ino's.

Yes, she was singing, but it was soft enough so that only he could hear her. He was certain that she thought no one could hear her singing along.

With _his _song.

A song that he wrote for her.

A song that he wrote to her.

A song that he wrote because of _her._

"My little mermaid,

Brought my heart up for trade,

My little mermaid,

She's the price that I paid."

_Doesn't she realize it yet? _Kiba thought wildly. _Doesn't she remember? Can't she see that it's about her?!_

It took almost all of his self-control not to lash out and shake the living daylights out of Ino. He wanted her to remember. He was sick of waiting. He was sick of pretending no to know her, nor to remember. He was sick of pretending not to loathe her, or maybe even still love her. He was sick of it all.

And it seems, from the way that she was singing, that the song was in a loop. Kiba was going crazy that he didn't even realize that it was already Kurenai's class.

And he had already, unconsciously, opened his book.

"She had me at 'hi',

Still got me with 'goodbye',

She taught me what love is,

And crushed me just like this."

_God, help me. _He looked at Ino once again and saw liquid dropping down her notebook. _Was she crying?_

"When she's on the stage,

I was a servant on wage,

But when she goes down,

I never let her drown."

"Will you stop singing?!" Kiba hissed. "I'm actually trying to pay attention here!"

Ino just stared at him, her blue eyes shining with freshly shed tears. The way she looked at him reminded Kiba of tht time it was a night that he wanted to forget.

"_You would stop at nothing, won't you?" Shikamaru said, spitting blood. Kiba just punched him across the face when he referred to Ino as a troublesome leech._

"_One more word out of you about Ino, and I'll kill you!" Kiba growled._

_Shikamaru smirked. The two of them were in the middle of the Yamanaka grounds, near the lake where Ino usually played. The girl already ran off, sobbing. Kiba appeared out of nowhere, defending her honor._

"_Ino, huh?" Shikamaru said. "You're getting a bit disrespectful of your own mistress. I'm normally nice to people, but you're far too troublesome to be left alone."_

"_You don't even love her."_

"_And you do? Love isn't part of the puzzle we're in. It's too troublesome."_

_Kiba was pissed at the utter disregard Shikamaru approached things. "If you don't love her, at least treat her with respect!"_

"_The only way for her to stop hurting herself is to show her bitter reality. She's much too childish for her own good. And you should grow up too," Shikamaru stated._

"_I will never hurt her. That's the grown-up thing to do."_

_Shikamaru sighed in exasperation. "Don't you see? Being with you __**will **__hurt her. She'll lose everything if she marries beneath her station and she's not used to living like that."_

_Kiba said nothing but his furious gaze lost none of their fire._

"_See? Even you know it."_

"_What is going on here?!"_

_It was Nara Shikaku. With him was Yamanaka Inoichi and Ino herself._

_The scene before them was telling. Shikamaru had a bruise at the side of his mouth and he was bleeding freely. Kiba's fists were bruised and he was panting._

"_Did you hit my son?!" Shikaku demanded._

_Kiba couldn't speak in shock. He just nodded his head._

"_Is this the way you teach your servants, Inoichi?!" Shikaku added. "To go around punching guests?!"_

_Inoichi was stunned. "I apologize, Shikaku. I assure you, I didn't know this would happen."_

_He rounded on Kiba and it was clear that he was furious. However, as to not scare the boy further, he asked calmly, "What happened?"_

_Kiba explained, all the while glancing at Ino. Her expression was scared, looking at Shikaku, Shikamaru and her father. Never once did she look at him when he said,_

"_I love your daughter, Inoichi-sama," he declared, "And all I can say is that she should be free to choose a better man to love her rather than someone who thinks of her as a bother."_

"_So you think that man is you?" Inoichi inquired in a hushed tone. "You're just a boy. You have no idea what you're talking about and you have nothing to offer her."_

_Kiba nodded in concession. "Yes, but I will protect her and care for her. I didn't say I was the man for her but if she would choose me, I'd give her the world. Everything should still be up to her."_

"_You'll be punished for this insolence, boy," Shikaku said menacingly._

"_Let Ino choose, father," Shikamaru said flatly. "She's the one who has a say on this matter._

_They all looked at Ino, whose face was frozen in a state of shock. But when she spoke, her words hit Kiba like a million shards of exploding glass._

"_How dare does a servant presume what my duties are and what my heart can do," she said in a quiet voice, her body shaking. Her eyes were staring at Kiba with malice. "I, Yamanaka Ino, will only marry a man of my station. I will always choose to be a Yamanaka than to be a nobody."_

_With that, she left._

_And Kiba swore revenge._

"What are you staring at?" Kiba muttered furiously.

"I was singing your song," Ino said, her voice laced with a faraway quality to them.

"I know that," Kiba retorted. "But stop it, you're only ruining the song."

Ino's glazed eyes suddenly burned with anger. "Look here, Mr. Popular," she spat. "You may think you're all that, but trust me, the last thing – "

"Yamanaka-san, will you please start listening to my lesson instead of talking to Inuzuka-san?" Kurenai-sensei suddenly said, jarring Ino back to her senses.

Ino fell silent, grumbling incoherent curse words. She spared Kiba a glance but he wasn't even looking at her. His undivided attention was now on the book in front of him, as if he never had an interaction with her in the first place.

She wanted to wreak havoc. What did she do to be treated this way? She didn't deserve to be set aside. That was why she became an actress in the first place. She wanted to be someone who could part crowds. She wanted people to acknowledge her. She wanted to be the one to finally say that something or someone wasn't good enough for her.

Or was that what she wanted?

The bell rang.

* * *

Ino's thoughts were momentarily put aside when she was with Naruto and Sakura for lunch. Hinata joined them for the first time and Ino thought that it would be awkward for Sakura but since her best friend herself thought of the masochistic idea, she obliged to let the pinkette dig her own grave.

And Sakura won't stop her from digging up her own gossip.

She was truly curious about Hinata and the other transferees. Sasuke was usually her type of guy but since Sakura already had this undying love for him, she stepped aside.

And she found out more than she bargained for.

_We just have to straighten the sides of the square._

Hinata is engaged to Sasuke who likes her but she's in love with Naruto who has a crush on Sakura but she is in love with Sasuke.

And she thought _she _had a messed up love life.

Things weren't looking so good either when Hinata suddenly fainted on them the moment the dense Naruto started questioning her about the mystery guy she was in love with.

The two friends accompanied Hinata and Naruto to the clinic. Naruto was threatened to stay by Neji and Sasuke. Ino almost groaned at the way Sasuke indirectly pushed his own fiancée to the man she loved. But no matter, this could be better for everyone.

After first period in the afternoon, Sakura and Ino decided to enter class. They were walking along the corridors with her bugging Sakura about the conversation they just had with Naruto and Hinata over lunch when her phone suddenly vibrated in her pocket.

It was a text from her agent saying that the spread for Konoha Monthly received the green light and they had a shoot this afternoon.

Ino sighed in relief and smiled. Work helped her forget all of her woes and made her feel important and competent. It was exactly what she needed to calm herself down or maybe even lift her spirits up.

However, her good mood sank quickly when she entered the class with Sakura. Anko was in her bitch mode and gave them detention because they were talking outside of her class.

Really, she was just doing her job as best friend extraordinaire and state the obvious to Sakura. It will be better for Naruto to just fall in love with Hinata so that Sakura could have a chance with Sasuke.

She moved towards her seat, not caring that Kiba was staring at her in a funny way. She took out her notebook and sighed gratefully when Anko chose Sakura as her victim of the day. She was okay with detention, but Physics just wasn't her thing.

The hours to the end of the class passed by excruciatingly slow. When the bell rang, Ino's head was about to split open in pain. The migraine always bothered her ever since that incident.

She pulled out her water bottle and drank an aspirin. She still had detention and there was no excusing her from Anko's wrath.

"Oi."

Ino turned to her right. It was Kiba, holding out her IPod.

"It fell before you left for lunch," he said.

Ino said nothing and just took it, meeting up with Sakura.

* * *

Detention was a bore and a pain. Anko decided to play hooky today and they were stuck doing her responsibilities. It didn't help that her phone kept on vibrating, her agent calling every five minutes and leaving her messages asking about her whereabouts. She sent a brief "Will be late. Detention." She was sure that the ass was screaming his head off right now.

"The silence was mind-boggling. The only sounds in the room where the occasional shifting of papers, scratching of pens, and crumpling. Ino grinned to herself as she listened to her best friend moan in frustration. She was just about done while Sakura was still figuring out Anko's Physics problem.

_And… I'm done!_

She piled the papers on the desk as neatly as she could and said goodbye to Sakura. Without another word, she bolted outside the door and ran along the corridors. She nearly bumped into Uchiha Sasuke in her hurry. A few paces away, Naruto was leaning against the wall, furiously looking at Sasuke's back.

_Did they have a fight?_

But Ino didn't stop to wonder. She was late and she didn't want to pry (a rare feat for her). She quickly apologized to Sasuke and went on her way.

She nearly flew down a flight of staircases when she heard a moan from the classroom at the end of the corridor. Curiosity piqued, Ino decided to play a prank. She opened the door and walked casually inside.

"You guys, the hotel's just across the – "

But she never got to finish her statement.

Inside was a girl from their class, Ayame. She was the one Ino wanted to bash against the wall for her irritating giggle. Her sea-green hair was unmistakable. Her blouse was in disarray and she was sitting on the table. Her skirt was bunched all around her hips. And there, feasting between her open blouse was a disheveled Kiba.

Before either of them could react to her presence, Ino ran.

Her head was screaming again and she could feel blood pounding inside her temples. Her heart felt like it was jarred in her throat and her knees were weak from everything.

She ran aimlessly, knowing that she wasn't actually getting to her car. She rounded the back of the gym, trying to find her favorite secluded spot in the school.

A lake.

Before she could reach her destination, she heard noises and sickening thuds – something hitting flesh.

And the smell of blood.

She rounded the corner and found a bunch of girls kicking Hyuuga Hinata down on the ground. Ino didn't have to think to know that these bullies were jealous of Hinata and found a way of cornering her.

Ino took out her cellphone and called Sakura. From all her running, she could barely talk to her best friend as she warned her what was happening.

Then, she took a dive into trouble.

"OI!" Ino screamed. The girls stopped abruptly and looked at her, revealing that they were wearing masks to hide their identities.

"Ooohh! Another bitch!" a girl with jet black hair said.

Ino's fist connected with the girl's face, sending her flying to the ground. She ignored the smarting pain in her fists. If there was one thing that she knew aside from all her other talents, it was fighting. After the stalker incident, Inoichi enrolled her in a martial arts class and she was now a black belt in Karate. She had a terrible day and horrendous migraine to top it all off. Beating these girls to a pulp would be her way of venting all her anger and frustration.

"What the hell?!"

"Don't underestimate a Yamanaka," Ino said. "You picked the wrong day to piss me off. I'm already so upset that I want to pummel all of you within an inch of your life!"

She took a step back as she assessed the situation. A couple of strategies formed in her mind to take down these girls without more damage done to her or Hinata. The Hyuuga heiress wasn't moving and Ino was seriously worried. Unfortunately for her, her migraine made her reach her limit too soon after a series of well-aimed blows to her offenders. One of them had a lucky shot to her old injury, making matters worse.

Ino was dazed and she knew that only willpower kept her on her feet. The reason these girls won't give up even though Ino landed blows on them was that they also wanted a piece of the blonde celebrity for so long.

"How're you gonna have a photo shoot now with a face like that?" a girl with cropped red hair said mockingly.

"Trust me," Ino said sassily. "My face busted up is still a million times better than yours with makeup."

"Why you - !"

Ino dodged the punch. She was able to counter it with a kick to the stomach, causing the girl to tumble over, groaning in pain. "Bring it on, you sluts."

"Upset because Kiba-sama turned you down again?" another girl taunted.

_That's it!_

"None of your business, you – !" Ino screamed, punctuating her statement with a kick.

"HINATA!"

Naruto came rushing in, immediately going to Hinata's side. She was in his arms and the blonde checked if she was alright.

"Get her to my grandmother, Naruto," Sakura, who was following Naruto, said.

"I'll come with you." It was Sasuke and he followed Naruto as he carried Hinata away.

"You all stay put!" Sakura bellowed at the girls, who quailed at the sight of her. There was the famous Senji temper that made even the most powerful men fold. "You're all a bunch of cowardly bitches. My grandmother already knows about this and Kakashi-sensei is on his way."

Whimpers were heard from the bullies but a sudden thud made them all stop.

Ino was on the ground.

"INO!" Sakura screamed. She was on her knees in an instant, lifting her best friend's head and saw blood gushing from the side of it.

_The old injury._

"Which of you bitches hit her on the head?!" Sakura demanded, wanting to strangle someone.

"Haruno!" a voice cut through her rampage.

It was Kiba an with him was Kakashi-sensei.

Sakura couldn't stop herself. She cried. "Kakashi-sensei… Please… help Ino. Her head…"

Kakashi saw the blood and immediately sprang into action. "Kiba, take Ino to Tsunade. She's in a worse state than Hinata. Sakura, go with them. I'll take care of these girls."

Kiba reacted quickly and took Ino in his arms. His senses were immediately assaulted by the jasmine fragrance he had forced himself to forget so long ago. Ino's face was deathly pale and the blood soaking his shirt made him want to tear his own hair out. He wanted to make those girls pay.

_Please… please be alright._

Sakura was crying relentlessly behind him as they hurried along the halls.

"Those horrible girls!" she said, sobbing. "The cut to her head reopened and she's not supposed to – "

"Reopened?" Kiba asked Sakura.

She looked crestfallen. "Two years ago, she had a stalker. She tried to ignore it and she didn't want to report to the police. But the stalker got angry and assaulted her. She was hit on the head with a metal pipe."

Kiba felt sick. Now it all made sense. Why she didn't seem to recognize her. Why she often took aspirins. Why she would massage her head every now and then…

There was no way Ino could forget that easily.

"She has retrograde amnesia," Sakura added. "She has no memory of events before she was thirteen years old."

* * *

**Weeeee. :D**


	6. Chapter 6 - The Fifth Complication

**Fourth update! Hope you love it!**

**By the way, you can tell me which pairing is your favorite so far! Favorite in terms of story. I'll share you mine. My personal favorite is Kiba and Ino's love story.**

**Chapter 6**

The Fifth Complication

Breaking the Ice

"What's going on?!" Sasuke demanded, following Sakura.

"Hinata," was all Sakura could say. She knew that it was all she needed to say and all he needed to hear.

"Where is she?!" he said, feeling ice crawl down his throat. It wasn't the first time that Hinata met with trouble. Because of who she was, there was always a reason to take advantage or to harm her.

Sakura spared him a glance. "Ino's with her. We have to tell my grandmother."

She speed dialed her grandmother.

"Sakura," Tsunade immediately picked up.

"Grandma," Sakura said. "Please tell Kakashi-sensei that Hinata and Ino are in trouble."

"Where are they?" she could sense the urgency in Tsunade's voice.

"Gym," Sakura replied.

"Who are you with, Sakura?"

"Uchiha Sasuke."

Sakura cut the line. She knew her grandmother was worried about her safety and that was why she asked who Sakura was with.

When they turned, Naruto was there, bending over a vending machine.

"Naruto!" Sakura gasped.

The blonde turned, seeing both of Sakura and Sasuke's pale faces.

"What's - ?"

"Hinata and Ino are in trouble," Sakura replied.

Naruto dropped his soda and ran.

When they finally arrived at the gym,

"My face busted up is still a million times better than yours with makeup."

They could hear Ino's voice resonating from the area.

"Why you - !" another voice screamed.

If it weren't for the urgency of the situation, Sakura would have laughed at Ino's sass. When they reached her, however, the scene before them was too much.

"Upset because Kiba-sama turned you down again?"

"None of your business, you - !" Ino yelled.

"HINATA!"

Hyuuga Hinata was on the ground, blood pouring near her face. The only sign that she was still alive was the feeble movement of trying to see where the voice that called her name came from.

Ino, on the other hand, was standing up, but it seemed that it took nearly all of her strength to do so. She was about to hit a girl with mousy brown hair when they arrived.

There were six girls surrounding Hinata and Ino. They were all wearing masks. Two girls were holding thick wooden sticks. Three girls were weaponless. One was holding a rope. The fast one was holding a rock, apparently trying to assist her comrade in bringing Ino down.

Naruto was already at Hinata's side, checking if she was fine.

Sakura's instincts immediately went alive. "Get her to my grandmother, Naruto."

"I'll come with you," Sasuke said. Sakura almost forgot that he was there, but then again he _was _Hinata's fiancée.

But looking at the events before her, it seemed that Naruto was Hinata's fiancée instead of Sasuke. It seemed that Ino had a point.

The bullies bristled. One made a motion as if to run away but Sakura was already on to them.

"You all stay put! You're all a bunch of cowardly bitches! My grandmother already knows about this and Kakashi-sensei is on his way," she angrily said.

The girls whimpered but Sakura still wasn't satisfied. They were going to pay. No one hurts her friends.

But just then, Ino collapsed.

"INO!" she screamed. She went on her knees and almost vomited at the sight of so much blood.

There was a different effect when you see someone close to you in such a condition. What's more, the side of Ino's head was the part that was bleeding.

Ino had a head injury caused by an assault. It was the stalker incident that she told Naruto and Hinata about. Sakura knew that she didn't really remember the details of what happened, but the doctors, police and her family filled her in.

Ino's life was a blank page when she woke up. All she could remember were events of recent years. All memories when she was a child was lost.

She even forgot about Sakura and Shikamaru, two of the closest people to her.

Sakura felt her hands shaking. She didn't want Ino to go through this again.

"Which of you bitches hit her on the head?!" Sakura shouted. She cradled Ino's head in her arms, not caring that she was soaked with Ino's blood.

"Haruno!"

It was Inuzuka Kiba and Kakashi-sensei.

Haruno Sakura wanted so badly to punish the girls that she thought she was someone going mad. All she should care about was Ino's safety or else all will be lost.

* * *

"I told him," Sasuke said as Naruto carried Hinata to the infirmary where Tsunade was waiting. "I warned Hiashi that this could happen if he enrolled Hinata in a normal school."

"Shut up, teme," Naruto retorted. "Hinata chose to go to Konoha Gakuen of her own free will. Stop dictating her life."

"You don't know any better. All this crap you fed her about being free and normal has gotten to her. She is a Hyuuga and she will never be normal! She's destined for great things," Sasuke intoned.

"Like what?" Naruto mockingly said. "Marry someone like you? If her destiny is restriction, then I won't lie to her like you do. I'd say her life is crap and she should do something about it!"

Sasuke scoffed. "Hinata will die at this rate."

"The world is cruel, Sasuke, just in case you don't know. I know that and Hinata knows it too. She's not afraid of it, unlike you," with that Naruto entered the infirmary, shutting it in Sasuke's face.

Sasuke tried to enter but the door was already locked.

_Dammit!_

There was a prickling sensation in his right hand. He looked down and saw the envelope.

Hinata's envelope.

_Sasuke picked up a white envelope that Hinata dropped. He went to the classroom, flipping it around._

_**To Naruto-kun**_

_The dobe? Why would Hinata give Naruto a letter?_

_Without thinking it through, Sasuke opened the envelope._

_**Naruto-kun,**_

_**I'm really happy that we're classmates here at Konoha Gakuen. Thinking back, I could only say that we've made it so far. I am very grateful that I got to know you. I'm very thankful that we became friends. I guess I have to thank Itachi-onii-sama. If it weren't for him, I wouldn't have met you.**_

_**You're probably wondering why I'm saying all of this. I guess I have to tell you now. I've hidden the truth for almost ten years. I guess when I finally found the courage to tell you, all I could manage was a letter.**_

_**You inspired me to be better, Naruto-kun. You showed me that there is a world beyong our own and that we shouldn't be afraid to live in it and experience it. You showed me how to use what we were born with to help others and be kind to them. You showed me to hope and dream even though it may be idiotic to some. You told me to overcome everything despite all odds.**_

_**All this time, I strove to be your equal. I've always chased after you, wanting to follow after your path – just to catch up to you. Until that time I realized that I want to hold your hand. I want to be beside you when no one else is.**_

_**I nearly lost my way with those thoughts of mine. Sometimes, I gave up before even trying. I thought about trying to fight for my feelings and actually telling my father that I want to someone else but then again, I had it all wrong. You told me back then to make the most out of any situation and be strong in paving my own destiny. I may not get everything I want, but I will be happy with what I have. I will learn to love Sasuke-kun someday. Again, you showed me the way.**_

_**I may not be able to hold your hand in the future, but I will remain by your side in whatever way you want me to be. Before I take another huge step in my life with Sasuke-kun, I wanted you to know the truth. Because of you, I'm not afraid to face life anymore. I have grown up.**_

_**Because I love you, Naruto-kun.**_

_**Hinata**_

_Because I love you, Naruto-kun._

_The words pushed Sasuke back to reality. The desk seemed very cold to his touch. Everything seemed to grow clearer. He finally understood. He finally knew._

_The reason why she smiled._

_The reason why she blushed._

_The reason why she giggled._

_The reason why she fainted._

_The reason why she started keeping secrets from him, Sasuke._

_It was all because of Naruto. And he was a fool not to see it._

_Ten years… for ten years she loved Naruto._

_And she was engaged to him, Uchiha Sasuke._

_Now, he just read that Hinata was willing to give up on her love for Naruto to marry him. He read that Hinata finally saw that everything Naruto said made sense to her. That she had a duty to uphold and that she should just make the most of her current situation. She was going to forsake genuine happiness for learned happiness. She was grudgingly accepting a fate that she never wanted in the first place._

_For him, it would have made sense to do so. But right now, seeing how Hinata could suffer from all of it, he had doubts about his entire way of life._

_He even convinced himself that he liked Hinata more than a friend because of that way of life. Well, he really did love her more than a friend, but that was back when they were children._

_But when they grew up, he knew that he stayed in love with Hinata because he chose to – because he liked the ease and convenience of it. Everyone expected them to be together and it pleased both of their parents._

_It was like the future was in the wraps._

_That's why Sasuke and Hinata were engaged. Sasuke agreed to it for the reasons he could think of above._

_Maybe he opened the envelope to free himself. It wasn't in his nature to pry. Why open a letter that wasn't intended for him? Why now?_

_It wasn't curiosity. The business of other people never aroused his inquisitiveness. It was as if he wanted to confirm something that he knew all along but refused to acknowledge._

_That Hyuuga Hinata's heart never belonged to him._

_He already knew this years back and this was even confirmed to him on the day they were engaged. But he never knew __**to whom.**_

_So it was that dobe, Naruto._

_Naruto was his best friend. Even though they were rivals, Sasuke has grown to respect him. And he wasn't someone to let something like this come between them._

_There was one thing left to do._

_He should break the engagement._

"Sasuke-kun," a voice pulled him away from his recollections.

Sakura was there, along with Inuzuka Kiba. In the other boy's arms was Yamanaka Ino and it appeared that she was bleeding.

Sasuke automatically rapped the door and said, "Yamanaka's here."

Tsunade opened the door immediately, ushering Ino and Kiba inside, leaving Sasuke and Sakura outside without a backwards glance.

"Why didn't grandma let you in?" Sakura asked out of the blue.

"Why didn't she let you?" he threw back.

"I'm hysterical," she replied. "I'll be in the way."

"Hn," was all he managed.

"But the same can't be said about you," she stated.

"Naruto shut me out."

"_Hey Sasuke," Naruto said after classes were over. "Have you seen Anko-sensei?"_

"_No," Sasuke replied flatly. "You have detention with her for a week."_

_Naruto frowned. "I know. Sakura-chan texted me."_

_Sasuke wanted to pummel Naruto within an inch of his life. This disturbing crush he had for Sakura was one of the reasons why Hinata was hurting. Naruto was so dense that he had doubts if he was good for her._

_He could feel the edges of the crumpled envelope poking inside his pocket. _

_Naruto was sighing. "I couldn't get her to go out on a date with me and now I'm stuck in detention because Hinata fainted. What am I going to do, teme?"_

_Without warning, Sasuke slammed Naruto against the wall. The blonde coughed in pain, his eyes wide in shock._

"_You should do something about this dobe," Sasuke said fiercely, his fists clenched around Naruto's collar, the letter Hinata wrote crushed within one of them._

"_What are you talking about?!" Naruto spat back. "Stop talking in riddles and give it to me straight!"_

"_You don't know a thing, do you?" the Uchiha growled. "About how Hinata feels?"_

_He knew that he had no right to tell Naruto the truth. He indirectly invaded Hinata's privacy and she would never trust him again if she found out that he read the letter. She might not forgive him if he was the one to reveal her feelings towards Naruto._

"_What about it? What about Hinata's feelings?" Naruto asked. "Is she alright? All that I know is that she doesn't love you, but that doesn't mean you should go around attacking people because of that!"_

_This idiot is dense._

_Sasuke released a cold laugh. "You don't deserve her, Naruto. You never will. I see that now."_

_He released Naruto and was off, heading towards the detention room._

"I'm gonna go wait at my grandmother's office," Sakura said.

Sasuke's phone suddenly rang.

"Neji," he said.

"Where's Hinata?" Neji questioned, panic in his voice.

"We already sent her to the infirmary. Naruto's with her," Sasuke responded.

"Was that - ?" Sakura started to ask.

"Neji," Sasuke supplied.

"Do you want to come with me?"

Sasuke didn't answer and just followed her. They went through another flight of stairs before reaching the faculty lounge. However, they slipped past the room and went directly to the end of the corridor. A sign alerted them that the room was in fact Tsunade's office.

Sakura went inside with Sasuke following closely behind.

The insdie of the room was spacious. They were led directly to a waiting area were mahogany adorned most of the furniture. There was a door to their right which probably led to a toilet area. The other door in front of them was the main office.

A shelf containing different books was there, designed to keep any waiting visitor occupied. Sakura immediately took a seat with Sasuke taking the one opposite her.

"Was this what you meant by what you said back then?" Sakura asked, breaking the silence.

"What do you mean?" Sasuke queried.

"People taking advantage of Hinata," Sakura said. "I know why those girls hurt her. They were jealous."

Sasuke frowned. "How would you know?"

"The same thing happened to me," Sakura said in a hushed voice.

Sasuke looked at her. "You're not the type to be bullied."

"How would you know?" The question was thrown back to him.

"Because you do the bullying."

The answer was said with such certainty that Sakura huffed in frustration.

"You keep on making judgment calls about me," she said, leaning back on her chair. "Something must have happened for you to think of me that way."

Sasuke didn't answer and just looked at her with a blank expression on his face. He was still clutching the white envelope that she saw earlier.

"What was it?" she continued. "That threat you gave me earlier. You said you remembered me. I'm not hiding it – the fact that we went to middle school together for some time. But what about it? What did I do to you, Sasuke-kun?"

Sasuke stood up and moved towards her, his then blank expression lighting up with fury.

"You mean you don't remember?" Sasuke breathed, his towering figure shrinking Sakura. "The great Haruno Sakura leading a group of girls to find Hinata."

"What - ?"

"You found out that my family wanted to link me with Hinata. My family was in talks with hers when we were at that age. She was homeschooled and you're the only one who had inside knowledge of that because Hiashi told your grandmother. Hinata wanted to enter school too and Hiashi was trying to do just that," Sasuke started to tell, his eyes burning.

Sakura was breathing heavily. Yes, she knew about a Hyuuga who wanted to transfer to their school. Tsunade told her about it because she wanted Sakura to be friends with her. But she didn't know about the arrangement between the Hyuugas and the Uchihas. She didn't even know Hinata until she went to school at Konoha Gakuen.

"That day I left school, a group of girls followed me home. I didn't like having guards then so I was only with my driver. Hinata and I went out when these people took us."

Sakura felt her stomach turn. She could only imagine what happened next.

"They knocked me and Hinata out. When I woke up, Hinata's back was already filled with wounds and they almost raped me," Sasuke continued through gritted teeth. "And you know what their leader said? 'Wait 'til Haruno-sama hears about this. She should be here with us.'"

Sakura blanched. "I don't know anything about that! And if my name was the only one mentioned, then you should realize that it was sabotage!"

"I remembered your name," Sasuke said, his hands clenched in fists. "I never forgot you. And when we went to Konoha Gakuen, I wanted to make you pay."

"But I didn't want to disrupt Hinata's happiness. You're the reason why she's traumatized. You're the reason why I had to leave Konohagakure," Sasuke breathed. "And you still won't admit to anything."

He didn't notice that his hand was already closed around Sakura's arm in a vice-like grip. But she didn't flinch and met his eyes with courage.

"I don't have to admit to anything because I didn't do anything," she said with conviction. "I was a victim as much as you. We were all set up."

Sasuke let her go, looking deeply into her eyes. She didn't waver and he didn't know whether or not he should believe her. But for now, her eyes and her voice spoke the truth.

Meanwhile, Sakura tried to rack her brain to recall who it was that may have caused all of this. However, her brain came up with nothing.

The door of Tsunade's office flew open. In came a man with jet black hair and a woman with dark blue locks. They both looked familiar and Sakura could only conclude that they were Sasuke's parents – Uchiha Fugaku and Uchiha Mikoto.

"Sasuke," Fugaku said. Mikoto hugged her son in relief.

"Father," Sasuke said in acknowledgment. "Mother."

"We came here with Hiashi," Mikoto explained. "We were having a meeting when Neji called."

"Where were you when Hinata was in trouble?" Fugaku asked.

"I was in the detention room," Sasuke answered. "Yamato-sensei asked me to collect the work of the people there."

"You were in detention?" Mikoto queried.

"No, I – " Sasuke began, but Sakura interrupted him.

"I-I was in detention with Ino. Sasuke-kun was there to collect our work. He was just following orders."

"And who is this young lady?" the elder Uchiha asked.

"Haruno Sakura," Sasuke said with a bow. "Senju Tsunade's grandchild."

"Tsunade-sama's grandchild?" Mikoto exclaimed, smiling widely. "You do look like her!"

"Indeed," Fugaku said. "I never knew she had a granddaughter."

Sakura smiled. "I lived with my parents until before middle school."

"Where are they, child?" Mikoto inquired.

"They're already dead," Sakura answered after a moment's hesitation.

Mikoto looked crestfallen. "I'm so sorry to hear that, dear."

Sakura just nodded. She turned slightly and saw that Sasuke was looking at her, observing her from behind his mother and father.

"How's Hinata?" he suddenly spoke up.

"She's fine," Fugaku answered. "Just a couple of bruises. The bleeding stopped. It's the Yamanaka girl that needs serious attention."

"We're all lucky that Tsunade-sama is a renowned doctor or else we'll be wasting time travelling to the hospital. The traffic was insane," Mikoto added.

"Ino," Sakura said, biting her lip. "If I may ask, how is she?"

Mikoto looked at her with sympathy. "I don't know, dear. It seems that they're still looking at that head injury from what I heard."

"I suggested that it'd be best for her to be brought to the hospital but Tsunade-sama is still looking into it and doing first aid," Fugaku said. "But I guess they were about to leave when we got there, right?"

Mikoto nodded. "Sasuke," she said. "You can come with us. We're going home."

"I'm not going anywhere without Hinata," Sasuke said firmly.

"She's already with her family," Mikoto stated.

"What about Naruto?"

His mother sighed sadly. "Minato almost had to drag him out of the infirmary. He's gone quite hysterical."

Sakura's head perked up. The Prime Minister himself went to pick up Naruto and it seemed that her friend was in a state of panic.

"And you can't expect to see Hinata so soon," Fugaku reasoned. "Hiashi will give us news. For now, we will go home."

"What about those girls?" Sasuke said with an edge in his voice.

Fugaku's gaze sharpened and Sakura could almost see where Sasuke got his infamous glare from. "They'll get what's due to them. Tsunade-sama assured that much."

"Poor girls," Mikoto said, sighing. "Every school's problem is bullying."

Fugaku agreed. "Let's go home now, Sasuke. Young Haruno can join us for dinner."

Sakura's eyes widened. "I couldn't impose," she said immediately, waving her hands in front of her face. "And I have to see Ino and Hinata. I just live near the campus anyway."

"Young lady, you don't say no to an Uchiha," Fugaku said. "And besides, you need the rest. You've been under so much stress."

Mikoto nodded in agreement and put her soft hands on Sakura's shoulders. "Come with us."

"But grandma – "

"We'll inform her," Fugaku said.

"Jiraiya-sama is out of town, isn't he?" Mikoto asked.

"H-hai," Sakura asked, briefly wondering how she knew about it.

"You can call your grandmother and we'll talk to her," Mikoto said.

Sakura did as she was told and looked at Sasuke. He was staring at her openly, as if reading her every movement. She was so confused with the turn of events as much as he was! One moment she was hysterically fighting for her friends' safety and the next thing she knew she was alone with Sasuke fending off a false accusation. And now, she was suddenly introduced to his parents and was being asked to join them for dinner.

"There!" Mikoto said, returning Sakura's phone. "Don't be shy. Tsunade-sama and Jiraiya-sama have helped us Uchihas through some rough patches in the past. And now that we met their only grandchild, we should get to know you more."

"Sasuke never told us about you," Fugaku said.

"We're not friends," Sasuke flatly declared.

Sakura frowned at him. "Sasuke's a big fan of first and false impressions. It's hard for us to be friends when he's that way," she commented wryly.

To her surprise, Mikoto and Fugaku laughed. "The famous Senju temper," the female Uchiha said.

"You better watch yourself around her, Sasuke," Fugaku said, his laughter dying down. "I've once been on the receiving end of that and I don't want a repeat."

Sasuke was baffled. Never in his entire life did he see his parents like someone this fast. His father was even being gentle and he talked too much.

If this were the old Sakura, she would have been swooning over the fact that she was meeting the parents of the boy he loved. But she wasn't. Her mind was still on Ino. At the very least, Hinata was safe. She'd never be able to rest easily without hearing any news about her best friend.

Her thoughts distracted her from the fact that she was already inside the limo with Sasuke and his parents. She would just nod occasionally and answer automatically whenever a question was thrown her way.

Sasuke was a bit unnerved with Sakura's silence. She was wringing her hands together surreptitiously and staring outside the window, no doubt thinking about Ino.

"She'll be fine," he said out of nowhere. "Your grandmother is the best doctor in Konohagakure, right?"

Sakura's eyes regarded him with surprise and she nodded, smiling gently.

Fugaku and Mikoto stared at the two youngsters with them, wondering what was going on. Sasuke was showing a rare feat of concern towards someone who was supposedly not his friend.

After a few more moments, they finally arrived at the Uchiha manor. The limo crept up the sleek driveway, illuminating a spacious lawn. Bright lights outlined a brick home that looked absolutely magical – a relic from the past that shone through the century.

Sakura got out of the car and momentarily forgot all of her woes. The house had a spectacular aura to it that made her stare. Her own house was a mansion but there was something about the famed Uchiha estate that made her feel…

…at home.

"Welcome, Sakura-chan," Mikoto said affectionately, motioning for the girl to follow the three Uchihas.

Sakura was right behind Sasuke when the double oak doors opened. A huge hall greeted her with a Victorian chandelier hanging at the middle. A grand staircase greeted her sight. At the juncture of the staircase was a family portrait – Fugaku and Mikoto, along with their three sons when they were younger. Sasuke looked like he was five years old in that painting.

"Kawaii…" Sakura said, not aware that she said that comment aloud.

"Yes, Sasuke was a cute little bugger," said a man who just entered the hall from the door to the left.

Fugaku and Mikoto laughed. It wasn't unusual that girls fawned over Sasuke. In fact, out of the three siblings, he had the most appeal to women. It seemed that Haruno Sakura was no exception.

"I am Uchiha Itachi, Sasuke's onii-san," the man said, bowing and kissing Sakura's hand.

Sakura giggled slightly at Itachi's antics, forgetting her earlier blunder. "Nice to meet you."

"And you are?"

"Oh," Sakura said, blushing. "Haruno Sakura."

"She is Tsunade-sama's only grandchild," Mikoto added.

"Wow," Itachi said. "You also want to be a doctor someday?"

"Yes," Sakura replied enthusiastically.

"Mother called me over for dinner because we have a guest," Itachi continued. "I had to leave my wife for a while. She had to attend to Naruto."

Sakura then remembered Itachi from one of her chats with Naruto. This man was the husband of Naruto's older sister, Haruko.

"Such a bother those bullies are," Itachi said, frowning deeply. "But you should relax for a while, okay, Sakura-san?"

"Thank you," she replied.

"Everyone is here," another voice joined in.

It was another boy and Sakura deduced that this was the youngest Uchiha whom Sasuke pertained to when he introduced himself.

"Good evening," she greeted, bowing. "I'm Haruno Sakura. Thanks for having me over."

"My name is Uchiha Sai," the pale boy said, bowing too. "Are you Sasuke-onii-sama's new girlfriend?"

Sakura gaped while Sasuke cursed Sai loudly, earning a disapproving glare from his parents.

"Don't be shocked," Itachi comforted her. "Sai is courteously tactless. First person you will ever meet who's like that."

"O-oh," Sakura said, laughing uncomfortably.

"Haven't you met him, Sakura?" Fugaku asked as they led her to the dining room, food already prepared in excellent fashion. "He goes to Konoha Gakuen too."

"Top of his year," Mikoto declared proudly.

"I don't hang around school," Sai said. "I'd rather paint and study than hang around stupid people."

The way Sai said this made Sakura laugh. It was like he didn't mean to say such bad things but he couldn't help himself anyway. She couldn't bring herself to get offended or be mad at him.

"I haven't met him yet until today," she said.

"Makes sense," the youngest Uchiha intoned. "I've never talked to ugly people."

A fork suddenly whizzed past Sai's ear, missing him only because he shifted to his right to reach for the salt. With a twang, the fork was buried against the wall, almost destroying a million yet portrait that adorned the dining hall.

All eyes turned to Sakura but she was just calmly eating. However, it was apparent that her fork was missing.

Itachi whistled in amazement. Sasuke said nothing and just stared, thankful that he had quickly suppressed the urge to laugh. Mikoto covered her lips with a cloth, apparently trying to conceal a smile. Fugaku was smirking openly. Sai regarded Sakura with surprise.

"So that's the temper you've told me about, Father," Itachi said, still impressed.

"Deadly aim," Sai conceded. Sakura was irked that he wasn't that affected by her actions. In fact, it seemed that she earned the youngest Uchiha's respect which was a rare accomplishment.

Mikoto cleared her throat and turned towards Sakura. "So, my dear, you plan on inheriting the family business?"

Sakura knew that Mikoto was merely distracting her from the oddities of the older woman's sons, so she opted to take a bite of such an offer. She would rather deal with business talk than fend off insults from Uchiha Sai. "Yes," Sakura answered. "After I become a doctor, I'll be learning the ropes."

"You're not learning now?" Fugaku inquired.

"My grandmother prefers that I concentrate on my studies first," Sakura replied. "And I fully agree with that. I think it's not yet the time."

"My parents think differently," Itachi said with amusement. "We're trained since we were born."

There was an indirect jab to what Itachi said, but the Uchiha couple made no comment on that. Fugaku smiled instead, "We believe in different approaches to certain things."

"Sakura," Mikoto piped in. "Have you been to marriage interviews, or is your grandmother opposed to that too?"

The pinkette couldn't suppress the blush that crept from her neck to her face. She hated the way she easily blushed. She wished that she was like Ino who rarely did so. _Ino…_

"N-no," Sakura responded. "I don't think my grandmother likes those sorts of things. And if she wanted to, I haven't had any offers yet. There's no talk about it at home."

"It actually makes sense," Fugaku said. "She's Tsunade-sama's only grandchild. They would want to keep her to themselves for a while."

Mikoto agreed.

Sasuke was getting pissed. He didn't know why his family was acting the way they did towards Sakura. He didn't have to wonder about her mother because she was truly a kind soul, but his father was another thing entirely. Even Itachi picked up on that subtle change in behavior. And he just couldn't sit here having fancy dinner without knowing what Hinata's condition is. They were assured that she was already alright but he had to make sure. He had to see her. He even needed to talk to her.

He still needed to break their engagement. The only problem was, how could he minimize the damage that decision would cause? Surely, Hiashi would go berserk. He'd been meaning to unite the Hyuuga family and the Uchiha family for so long. Itachi has already married a Namikaze and an Uzumaki at the same time, strengthening the connections their family had to the outside world. The Hyuugas didn't have the same hold yet. Neji was engaged to a Sabaku, and that wasn't much a foothold over anything. The only reason why Hiashi agreed to that was because he wanted to acquire the blossoming empire before it became competition and ther Sabaku patriarch was a cunning man who wouldn't sell his life's work without insurance.

Then there was Hanabi. She still wasn't engaged to anyone and Sasuke was pretty sure that the youngest Hyuuga had no intention of marrying or even going to a marriage interview yet. She was too strong-willed and she was the type to find a match on her own rather than to bend to her father's will. However, there were rumors circling about their society that Hanabi was secretly seeing someone. And that someone was actually quite powerful, only he was not of Konohagakure.

Sasuke actually prayed against all hope that it was true. Because if it was, then Hanabi could be married to a clan of the same standing as the Uzumakis. It was rumored that she was dating Sarutobi Konohamaru, third generation and third-in-line to the throne of a neighboring country.

Hiashi was all about competition. He wanted to match the Uchiha standing by having one of his offspring marry into a noble family or a family of the same prestige and worth. He would hit the jackpot if he found out about this and at the same time marrying off a daughter which he deemed useless to an Uchiha.

If only Hiashi knew that Hinata was in love with another heir to the throne.

The only reason why Hiashi would disapprove of the match was because he disliked Naruto. He was the epitome of everything Hiashi despised. He regarded the blonde as a mutation – a bane to the noble society. And Naruto found joy in pissing off the Hyuuga elder every chance he got.

But what was he to do?

Unfortunately, a ridiculous idea just crossed his mind. This _could _be acceptable. He never did things that he didn't think through and this was utterly ludicrous, but at the same time –

"I have something important to tell you," Sasuke interrupted, gaining the attention of the entire family and Sakura. "I have decided on a very important matter and my decision on this is final."

No one said anything. Sakura was staring at Sasuke with curiosity. _What could it possibly be? _

It became rather awkward that she was here for such an announcement.

"I intend to break off my engagement with Hinata," he declared.

A few seconds passed. Seconds turned to a couple of minutes. Minutes seemed like an eternity. The silence was deafening.

"What?" Fugaku said in a hushed tone, apparently trying to wrestle with what his son just said.

"I don't want to be engaged to Hinata anymore," Sasuke repeated, unfazed by the anger boiling beneath the surface of his father's façade.

Itachi was calmly assessing Sasuke. His brother was up to something, that much he knew. He just wouldn't go about disobeying family orders. Sasuke was a stickler to the rules. He would do anything to gain their father's approval even if it meant sacrificing his own happiness. He would do anything to please the clan and prove to them that he was better than his onii-san. Marrying Hinata was considered as a strategic choice for him and it was convenient since he already liked her. Though Itachi knew that the feeling wasn't mutual on Hinata's part, he was happy for his younger brother. He thought that maybe someday, Hinata will fall for Sasuke. He knew that it was in Hinata's nature to give people chances and that maybe, she would honor his younger brother with a chance to let her fall in love with him.

"And why is that?" Mikoto said after recovering from her shock.

"I…" Sasuke said, pausing to take a breath, "love someone else."

Sakura gaped. She really doubted if she should be here. This was certainly an awkward moment. She knew for a fact that Sasuke was lying on the basis of Hinata's honesty. Hinata wouldn't tell them about Sasuke's feelings for her if it weren't true. And Sakura was a daily witness to how Sasuke cared for the Hyuuga heiress. It was apparent that he had feelings for her. So why was he breaking off the engagement? Why did he suddenly say that he was in love with someone else now?

"Who is it, Sasuke?" Fugaku demanded. "And why didn't you inform us of this before?"

"Because it just happened. Do I need to give a reason? You didn't ask Itachi when he fell in love with Haruko."

"That's because Haruko is an Uzumaki," Sai said in his deadpan voice. "Father won't resist to such a great union. Love was just a bonus."

_Too frank, Sai. _Sakura sighed inwardly, thinking if she should really be listening on this or if she should excuse herself. This was a family matter and she was a stranger.

"Sai," Mikoto said warningly. She turned to Sasuke. "So is she your girlfriend? Have you already told Hinata?"

"Hinata already knows," Sasuke lied. "She agreed to it. She loves someone else too, anyway, so we thought that it would be better."

"Hinata loves someone else?!" Mikoto gasped in surprise.

Sakura caught Itachi's eye momentarily. It was clear the eldest Uchiha brother already knew about this by the way he wasn't surprised at all.

"When did you even talk about this?" Fugaku asked.

"Before the incident. This morning when we were together," Sasuke replied.

"Who are these people that you're in love with that you would break such a union?" Fugaku added, turning a bit red on the face.

"Hinata's business is her own," Sasuke said. "She's my friend and it's her secret to tell, not mine."

"But we have the right to know of yours," Mikoto said. "We are your family and we have to know of this girl whom you like."

Sakura's eyes bore on Sasuke, not knowing if she would even like hearing who this mystery girl was. She knew that he was lying and she finally understood that he was doing this to protect Hinata. He was doing this so that Hinata will have a chance to be together with Naruto. He was taking a plunge.

"She's already my girlfriend and with your permission, I wish to be engaged to her," Sasuke declared.

Fugaku frowned. "And why would you need our permission if you've already decided on this matter? And if this girl is not of our circle or not of good social standing, then why would there be a need to follow tradition and be engaged to her in such an early time?"

Itachi nodded. "Yes, Sasuke. If this girl is not of our circle, then it means that you can have a relationship with her freely. You don't have to be engaged to her. Only our own traditions dictate that we can have marriage interviews and engagements at such an age if we wanted to."

"Because she _is _of our circle," Sasuke stated. "She's right here, actually."

Sasuke's mouth widened to a smirk. "That's why I told you that she wasn't my friend. Because she was never my friend in the first place. She's someone so much more."

All pairs of similar onyx eyes were on her. Sakura felt like she was drowning. She felt like she wanted to throw a plate filled with food to Sasuke's smirking face and scream obscenities at him. Why the hell was he doing this?!

"This is my fiancée, Haruno Sakura," Sasuke announced, motioning to her. "And with your blessing, I will have her as my own."

* * *

**Giggle giggle. :D**


	7. Chapter 7 - The Sixth Complication

**Here for the seventh chapter, as I promised. It took a little later than I expected because I had to attend to an emergency. I had to write the chapter down by hand again, along with the other ideas for the 8****th**** and 9****th**** chapter. **

**Hope you guys enjoy this chapter and thanks a bunch for the reviews, fav's, and alerts so far!**

**Chapter 7**

The Sixth Complication

Breaking the Plan

Naruto slammed the door on Sasuke's face as he carried Hinata to the bed. He carefully placed her there, hoping against all hope that she'll be alright. He studied her face and it was chalk white, the dried blood caking all over the side of her face.

"Hinata…" he mumbled as Tsunade appeared and started checking Hinata.

"Move away, Naruto," Tsunade said.

Naruto did as he was told and didn't resist further. What people don't know was that the Senjus were old friends of the Uzumakis and Jiraiya was Naruto's godfather. Tsunade had developed a close bond with the boy and acted as another mother figure. He had utmost respect for her and knew her capabilities as a doctor. He knew that if there was anyone who could save Hinata, it was Tsunade.

The curtains were closed all around Hinata and he was ushered by a nurse which appeared out of nowhere. He was made to sit down and a glass of water was given to him. He ignored it and continued staring at the curtains, trying to make out the silhouette of Tsunade.

"_Good luck with the exam today, Naruto-kun."_

_Naruto grinned widely at Hinata, who was leaning behind a tree in the Uzumaki compound. Hiashi had the Hyuuga children sent to Kushina for some lessons in the traditional arts. Today was Naruto's kendo practical exam. As children of the royal family, they were homeschooled and taught different historical and practical subjects which were meant to help them appreciate the culture and heritage of Konohagakure. They had to learn more than the average student._

_Karin and Haruko were excellent pupils. Their tutors often praised the Uzumaki ladies and often reported to the emperor that they would make fine leaders in the future._

_Naruto, however, was different._

_It wasn't that he lacked potential. On the contrary, he showed flashes of brilliance whenever people put him down. Naruto just did things his own way. He was a bit lazy and very playful. He was brilliant in subjects that he preferred. His tutors often said that Naruto was a spoiled brat and they often wished that the Crown Prince Nagato and his wife would have a son so that he would inherit the throne and not Naruto._

_However, Nagato and Konan were very supportive of their nephew. Nagato, as Naruto's secondary father figure often taught him of the ways of being a royal which made Naruto gradually appreciate his role as a member of the Uzumaki clan. _

_Kushina often defended her son against the emperor, who thought that Naruto should undergo more rigorous training and that he should be punished for every single transgression._

"_Thanks, Hinata-chan," Naruto replied, walking over to where the Hyuuga stood._

_They were now nine years old. Naruto and Hinata developed a fast friendship. Naruto was glad that he met kids his own age with whom he could feel safe with. Added to the fact that he now had this fun rivalry with Sasuke. He was happier than ever._

_Hinata was blushing again and Naruto scratched his head in confusion. It happened so often. Whenever he would talk to Hinata, she would redden, stammer, and look away. Sometimes, they wouldn't have a proper conversation. But Naruto liked Hinata. He reminded her of himself whenever he would feel unsure about something. That was why he often felt a tendency to help her._

"_Do you have a test today, too?" Naruto asked._

_Hinata shook her head. "N-not really. Kushina-sama asked me to do calligraphy later."_

"_That's great," Naruto commented. "But that's really boring."_

_Hinata giggled. "You enjoy sports more, Naruto-kun?"_

_Naruto nodded. "Well then, I have to go now, Hinata-chan."_

"_O-okay, Naruto-kun."_

"Sasuke-kun."

Naruto heard Sakura from the other side of the door. He realized that she would follow any minute now with Ino. He didn't get the chance to check his other friend because his mind was preoccupied with Hinata and her safety. He moved to stand up and open the door for them but Tsunade already pulled back the curtains, motioning for him to sit down.

He had a brief glimpse of Hinata, who was now being bandaged.

"How is she?" Naruto asked.

"She'll be fine," Tsunade answered. "She has a couple of bruises. There weren't much heavy hits but there were a lot. She's just knocked out. No concussions."

Naruto expelled a breath in relief.

An urgent knocking at the door stopped the conversation.

"Yamanaka's here," Sasuke said from the other side of the door.

_So the teme didn't leave yet, huh?_

_Of course he wouldn't. He was Hinata's fiancée after all._

Naruto grimaced at that thought but quickly pushed it aside. From back then, there was always something wrong with trying to picture Hinata and Sasuke in a romantic light. It was as if nothing matched. It seemed odd to him.

Tsunade opened the door and let some people in. Naruto looked up, surprised to see Inuzuka Kiba.

The expression on Kiba's face said it all. He was extremely agitated and there was blood all over his shirt. One look at Ino told Naruto that her situation was far worse than Hinata. Before he could stand up to help, Kiba already laid Ino beside Hinata's bed. The curtains were already drawn on Ino and Tsunade went back to work with her assistants.

Kiba was left there standing as Naruto had previously been.

"Kiba," Naruto said.

The Inuzuka didn't respond. He just kept looking at the curtains shielding him from Ino.

"Kiba," Naruto called out again.

Kiba merely looked at him and shook his head. He didn't want to talk and he moved away, finding a place within the infirmary to be alone with his own thoughts.

Naruto stared at Kiba's back, trying to figure out why he was so worried. Heck, he couldn't even figure out why Kiba was there in the first place. He wasn't close to Ino. Naruto could even go as far as say that Kiba hated Ino.

Being close to Ino himself, the girl wasn't too private about her own life. He knew that Ino liked Kiba but that the idol didn't even spare her a minute. He was an absolute bastard to her. He had talked to Kiba every once in a while and found him to be nice. It seemed that his bad side was reserved only for Ino.

They didn't even know each other before Konoha Gakuen.

This was probably what Karin told him when they were children that boys tend to be jerks to the girls they like. Was Kiba that immature?

But Naruto chose to ignore the bothered boy, deciding to just talk to him when he was ready or willing. He was just happy that Hinata was alright. He also trusted Ino to be alright. Despite Ino's love of all things feminine, she had a tenacity that could outmatch any strong man. He trusted his friend to be alright. Sakura would beat the hell out of her if she gave up in any sort of way.

From the prolonged silence on the other side of the door, Naruto assumed that Sasuke and Sakura had already left. The persistent murmurs seemed to indicate that the two were arguing but it somehow stopped. At least somebody had the guts to tell Sasuke as it is. He may be Hinata's fiancée, but he certainly wasn't acting like one.

He was pulled out of his thoughts by a loud banging banging on the door.

"Naruto! Let me in!"

It was Neji. Naruto quickly got up and opened the door. The Hyuuga male was paler than he usually was, his eyes showing no signs of even acknowledging his presence. He quickly moved around the blonde, motioning towards the drawn curtains. He peered inside of each one, trying to see where Hinata was. When he finally located her bed, the proud young man fell to his knees beside his twin, his head bowed and his hand clutching hers.

"Not again," he was madly whispering, his free hand gripping the sheets viciously. "Not again."

Naruto felt his body moving towards Neji. He laid a hand on his friend's shoulder and squeezed it reassuringly.

"Nothing like this will ever happen again," Naruto swore with conviction. "Not if I can help it."

He meant what he said. He couldn't stand ever seeing Hinata in this situation ever again. He didn't want her to even be afraid. Fear restricted someone's life. If Hinata was always surrounded by fear, how will she ever live?

"_I-I don't think I can do it, Naruto-kun," Hinata mumbled, staring up at a grinning Naruto._

"_Yes, you can!" Naruto loudly proclaimed from a branch of a tree that he had climbed a couple of minutes ago. All he intended to do was to get the kite he and Hinata had made. However, the rambunctious blonde decided to add something to the list of adventures he wanted Hinata to try – climb a tree._

"_If Father finds out, we'll get scolded," Hinata tried to argue, knowing that what she said was the truth but knowing also that it will never scare Naruto._

"_I really don't care what old man Hiashi says," Naruto replied, confirming Hinata's thoughts._

_It was another Tuesday afternoon at the Namikaze-Uzumaki compound. Hinata insisted that she spend Tuesdays there with Kushina to improve her calligraphy and painting skills. The Uzumaki princess was glad to oblige, liking the Hyuuga girl at first glance. She also took pity at the fact that Hinata's mother seemed to pay more attention to her duties as the wife of a Hyuuga head rather than an actual mother. Kushina took it upon herself to be Hinata's protector when there was no one to defend her._

_Also, she recognized that there was something about Hinata's attitude towards her son that was different. Not that she was a matchmaker or anything, but it did seem too cute to simply ignore._

_Kushina got one thing right. One of the reasons why Hinata insisted on visiting the Namikazes was, in fact, Naruto._

"_Just hold on to the branches carefully and put your feet up one at a time," Naruto instructed. "Do it slowly and do it like I did. When you've reached my branch, I'll help you up."_

_Hinata took a deep, calming breath. "O-okay." She then slowly placed her hand on a tree stump, gripping it as hard as she could as she pulled herself up._

"_That's it," Naruto said encouragingly._

_Very carefully and with shaking palms, she managed to reach halfway up the tree. Unfortunately, she could feel her arms weakening, causing her grip to slacken. Her body began to shake and she felt that she was slowly sliding down._

"_Naruto-kun!" she gasped, looking at Naruto's cerulean eyes fearfully._

_All of a sudden, she leaped, her hand stretched fully, trying to grasp Naruto's dangling feet._

"_Hinata!" Naruto yelled in surprise as Hinata clutched at his feet. Caught unawares, he was dragged to the ground with her, falling hard on the ground._

_Fortunately, the fall wasn't that high and they ended up with only a few scrapes and bruises. However, Hinata's problems weren't her cuts. It was that Naruto was lying precisely on top of her, with his face only a few inches from her own._

_Hyuuga Hinata promptly fainted._

Neji gave his friend a sideways glance, a small smile appearing on his usually stoic face. "How is she?"

"She's going to be fine," Naruto replied. "You tend to underestimate Hinata. She's a fighter."

Neji gave out a dry laugh. "I never underestimated her. I just learned never to underestimate the world and what it can do to her."

"The world isn't as evil as you make it out to be."

"The world is what the world is. And it's always been cruel to our kind."

Naruto sighed. "Well, _I _don't hold a grudge against it. God knows how many times people tried to harm me. Heck, even my own grandfather doesn't trust my capabilities. But I learn to love the world anyway. Hinata does, too. Maybe you should try learning from her."

Neji nodded. "True. There are some things that even geniuses don't know. Hinata happens to know a lot more of the important things than I ever will."

"She's really something, isn't she?" Naruto said softly.

"Naruto," Neji started to say, "what if…"

"If?"

"If Hinata loves someone else? I mean, someone who is not Sasuke."

To Neji's apparent surprise, Naruto laughed. "I already know that."

"You do?" the Hyuuga said, glancing up at him.

"Hinata told us when we were having lunch together. She told Ino, Sakura and me. Well, Ino guessed that she was in love with someone else," Naruto said, scratching the back of his head. "I never knew, of course. And that's when I started bugging her about who it was. I only wanted to help because I don't think the teme will ever take it well. Then there's that thing Sasuke was telling me about when he went insane…"

Naruto was rambling and it was obvious that all that Neji wanted to do was to smack his own head against the floor due to exasperation at the blonde's obliviousness.

Before Naruto could wander off more, Neji cut off his track of speech, "Who do you think it is?"

"I have no idea. You won't like that it's not Sasuke, for sure," Naruto commented.

"I already knew who it was since we were little," Neji responded, earning Naruto's astonishment. "I don't say that I approve, but I won't do anything against it. Whatever she decides to do, then I will support it."

Naruto grinned approvingly. "You're finally learning."

"I guess so."

"Naruto."

The two boys turned and saw, with mild surprise, Namikaze Minato. He was standing there in a business suit, apparently fresh out of his office. The Prime Minister was looking at them with a small smile on his face but one look at Hinata erased the expression entirely.

"Tsunade-sama informed me of what happened," Minato said. "She told me that you were here, Naruto, so I came immediately."

"Thanks, Dad," Naruto muttered. "Hinata's fine now."

"That's good."

The boys were silent for a couple of minutes. They looked so forlorn that Minato's heart couldn't help but go out for them. They had been so close over the years that they were just like siblings. Even with their disagreements and differences, their families had retained the closeness that they needed to look after each other in times of need and trouble.

"You shouldn't blame any of this on yourselves," Minato said. "People like us are made who we are through challenges. Others will always try to bring us down. What matters most is that we don't let this be the reason to be cruel or vengeful to them. Be kind even if others wouldn't do the same for you."

Naruto beamed at his father. This was the man who taught him everything that he knew to live life well. He was happy and he felt lucky that he had parents like Minato and Kushina. Compared to the others of his circle, he had the best family there ever was, even though they came from a clan who were scrutinized every so often under a microscope.

Hiashi's hold over the Hyuuga clan was strange and suffocating. He and his wife had an odd way of raising their children. Because Hiashi was so controlling, his wife knew not to cross him. She was the epitome of submissiveness and all she did was follow without question. She loved her children though, but all she could do was to placate her husband's volatile temper when it struck. It did nothing to shield her son and daughters from any lasting damage. Especially Hinata.

Uchiha Fugaku and Mikoto weren't faring much better. Even though Mikoto was more pro-active in raising her children, she often took her husband's side. One couldn't tell at first because she would have bouts of assertiveness, but she was a more mysterious lady than she let on. Fugaku had a more indirect approach than Hiashi, preferring to let his children think that they have the luxury of choosing their destinies while slowly implying what and who they should be. Even Itachi, with all his cleverness, didn't escape this careful brainwashing. If it weren't for Naruto's sister Haruko, he would have plunged completely into being an Uchiha robot, designed to inherit a carefully structured life plan rather than establish his own.

These families thought that Naruto was raised oddly and that he stuck out like a sore thumb. But the Prince didn't care. He thought that his friends deserved better. And he knew that someday, he will prove all naysayers wrong.

Funny how money and power dictate people.

His blue eyes turned to Neji, who was still clutching Hinata's hand. The Hyuuga heir spoke no word of argument against what Minato said. But his eyes were soft and sad – a rare sight to see from the often stoic boy.

"We have to go, Naruto," Minato suggested. "Your mother and sister are waiting at home."

"Haruko? What's she doing home?" Naruto asked.

"Your mother suggested that you needed us," his father replied.

"I can't leave yet, Dad," Naruto said, looking at Neji. "I can't leave Neji and Hinata behind."

"You'd have to, son. Hiashi is on his way. Let them have some time alone."

"That's exactly what I'm avoiding. I can't have Hinata alone with Hiashi."

Minato sighed and laid his hand on Naruto's shoulder. "Hiashi won't do anything. He can't. Hinata is his daughter."

Neji suddenly spoke up. "Do you honestly think that I will let my father do anything to Hinata? You don't know what measures I've taken over the years to protect my sisters."

Naruto's lips lifted up softly. "I know that Neji. Hinata tells me about it often. She's not ignorant of your sacrifices. She's always been grateful to you. I just think that you need back-up."

The door suddenly opened and in walked Hiashi and his wife. Hiashi's sharp gaze immediately flew to Naruto. His eyes suddenly burned.

"Did you have anything to do with this?!" he demanded hotly and loudly.

"What the – " Naruto reacted, moving towards Hiashi, but Minato held him back with a restraining hand.

"Do not accuse my son, Hiashi," Minato said, his voice quiet and calm. However, his eyes were alive with banked anger. "He helped Hinata. Naruto brought her to the infirmary."

"Didn't you hear what happened, father?" Neji said, standing up. "Hinata was targeted by bullies."

"Probably because of her association with him. Why was he first on the scene?" Hiashi plowed on. "We all know how much harm Hinata falls into whenever he's around."

"_What are you doing with my daughter?!"_

_Naruto scrambled off an unconscious Hinata. He knew, judging from Hiashi's livid face, that he couldn't bluff his way out of this one. His mother was nowhere in sight and his father was still at work. Hiashi wasn't supposed to be here but here he was, looking at the evidence of an accident. Naruto had scrapes and bruises while Hinata had the same amount of damage. However, what made the situation altogether worse was that Hiashi found Naruto lying on top of Hinata._

_And Hiashi was well-aware of the fact that her daughter passes out because of extreme embarrassment._

"_We fell off a tree," Naruto explained. "Hinata must have been so scared that she – " Before he could say anything more, Hiashi smacked him right across the face._

_Naruto's face stung but he prevented the tears from falling down his face. No, he would not let Hyuuga Hiashi have the pleasure of seeing him cry._

"_You cause all sorts of trouble, boy," Hiashi said with utmost contempt. "The day Hinata became friends with you, she started to become a stranger to the family. She's been in a lot of accidents! She started disobeying and having silly dreams of being an artist, as if that would ever qualify as a profession."_

"_You underestimate Hinata!" Naruto retorted. "You don't know her! She's been hiding her true self from you because you scare the shit out of her! She only wants you to love and acknowledge her and all you ever do is – "_

"_You impertinent brat!" Hiashi yelled. "You don't deserve the crown! An ignorant and stupid boy who disregards traditions and rules will only destroy Konohagakure! From now on, HInata will stop coming here! You are not welcome in my home! You are not to see her unless I expressly say so! Stay away from my daughter!"_

"Hiashi! Is Hinata alright?!"

It was Uchiha Mikoto. Along with her was Fugaku. Naruto inwardly groaned. The room was getting more and more crowded and he was sure that Tsunade would give them all hell for this.

"She'd better be fine or I will press charges," Hiashi said as his wife moved to where her son and daughter were.

"Against whom, Hiashi?" Minato challenged. "You'll find yourself wasting your time and money."

"A-anou," a nurse who appeared said. "Only relatives of the patient are allowed here. And those permitted by Tsunade-sama."

"Come on, Naruto," Minato persisted gently. "We'll check on Hinata later."

"No, Dad," Naruto said firmly. "Besides, Tsunade-baa-chan allowed me to stay here."

"Then we should leave first," Fugaku said. "We need to find Sasuke."

"Where is Sasuke?" Mikoto anxiously asked the nurse.

"He's at the floor above," the nurse promptly answered. "In Tsunade-sama's office."

"Thank you," the Uchihas replied as they left.

"Now," Hiashi said, turning to Naruto like a lion drawn to its prey. "Admit to what happened, Namikaze, or I swear you'll pay."

"There's nothing to admit and I'm not afraid of you," Naruto shot back, facing the elder Hyuuga without reservations.

"Stop this, father," Neji said, coming between Naruto and Hiashi. "Naruto didn't do anything. He – "

"SHUT UP!" Hiashi bellowed. "He has brought nothing but trouble to Hinata ever since he met her! And I am damned sure that he has something to do with this and by god, I - !"

"You're being irrational, Hyuuga. As always."

Tsunade appeared behind them. She looked extremely irked. In all honesty, Naruto quailed more under Tsunade's glare than Hiashi's full-blown wrath.

"You're disturbing my patients. Get out," she said, addressing Hiashi.

Hiashi scowled. "I am Hinata's father. I have the right to be here and I have the right to complain about your school's security measures."

Tsunade's smile was terrible. Even Hiashi's façade faltered at the face of the great Senju. "You can come back when you start acting like a parent. And don't tell me how to run my school when you cant even look after your own family properly."

"You have no – "

"I have every right," Tsunade said, effectively cutting Hiashi off. "You are in my school and as such, the children are under my protection. I can even protect them from abusive fathers if I have to."

Hiashi was about to say something when a voice that uttered a name made them all fall silent. They all turned around.

"Naruto-kun," Hinata mumbled. "Naruto-kun…"

Naruto wrenched himself free from his father's grasp and went straight to Hinata's side.

"What is it, Hinata-chan?"

"I…" she whispered, her eyes half-open and dazed. "I love you."

With a thud, Hyuuga Hiashi fainted.

* * *

In an alternate universe where everything is possible, it would have been hilarious to tell the readers that Hyuuga Hiashi fainted. But even if this were an alternate Naruto universe where everything the author says is possible, Hyuuga Hiashi didn't faint.

Boringly, he just looked completely amusing. He seemed to look like a gaping fish completely out his depth. His wife suddenly let go of Hinata's other hand as if she were electrocuted. Neji's eyes were wide in complete shock.

Minato thanked any god that listened that the Uchihas already left. There would be complete chaos in his hands if they were here.

Tsunade, meanwhile, had a satisfied smile on her face as she watched Hiashi have a private meltdown in a corner.

But, all eyes eventually riveted to Naruto, who was as still as a statue.

"Naruto," Minato said, but his son did not move.

"She's medicated heavily, isn't she?" Hiashi asked Tsunade.

"Not heavily, no," Tsunade said, chuckling. "Doesn't make it any less true, what she said. Think of it as speaking while you're drunk. We say the most secret things when our inhibitions are removed."

"Naruto," Minato repeated, trying to shake his son out of his stupor.

Then, Naruto bent down. His face was inches from Hinata's, as if trying to check something.

He closed in and sealed the day, and the surrounding chaos, with a kiss.

* * *

If the kiss really happened, then the story would have conveniently and shockingly ended for Naruto and Hinata. But no, Naruto didn't kiss Hinata. For all intents and purpose, let us be reminded, especially a certain confused reader, that this is a multiple-pairing fan fiction with the chapters alternating between the different pairings and not solely on Sasuke and Sakura (although they were the original main attraction, as the listing on says). We won't have much of a continuity if I suddenly make Hinata's life much better in an instant with a kiss from her beloved Naruto-kun. Nope. Naruto still has a massive crush on Sakura.

But he was still floored by Hinata's confession, much like any human being after a half-awake person blurts out that she has amorous affections for you.

"What the hell is going on?!" Hiashi spoke up once more. "Has that been your purpose all along?! To seduce Hinata?!"

At this, Naruto couldn't help himself. He laughed.

"Are you serious?" he said between gales of laughter.

"Naruto," Minato said warningly. Naruto immediately sobered up, puzzled at his own reaction. He guessed that he was so surprised at the turn of events that he couldn't help but just react to anything that was going on. It was like his body was distracting itself from what it should really confront – Hinata.

"Hiashi," Tsunade said authoritatively.

Before the Hyuuga could complain further, Tsunade already led him away.

"We should go now, Naruto," Minato said with finality. "Your mother and sister will be worried."

Naruto nodded numbly, "Are you gonna be fine here, Neji?"

"Yes," Neji said. "I'm sorry for that, Naruto."

Neji's mother sighed and stood up. She suddenly engulfed Naruto in an embrace. "You are a brave and special young man, Naruto. I'm sorry for my husband."

"It's alright," Naruto said, letting Minato lead him out of the room.

Father and son walked out of the infirmary in silence. After the huge revelation, neither of them know what to say to or ask each was times like these that the Namikaze men turn to the women. Kushina and Haruko would know what to say.

If they were only ordinary people, Hinata's confession could have been taken more lightly. But they were far from ordinary. And compared to the Hyuuga and Uchiha clans, marriage among the Uzumaki clan – the royal family – were taken into highest standards and consideration.

Naruto was the future Emperor of Konohagakure. There was a very careful selection process of the bride of a future ruler. In some cases, there were women from nobility who were groomed to be the consort of the Crown Prince or the Emperor. In most cases, they married firstborn Princesses from other lands and for them to also be considered, their nations should be of similar wealth or potential as Konoha. Crown Princess Konan was the only exception. She was the second daughter of the emperor in Amegakure, a small neighboring nation that has been the battleground of great countries in the earlier years. Because of its status as 'ground zero', it has barely taken off to any prosperous direction.

Since Konan was only the second female born to the family, it was expected that her elder sister would be a candidate for any Crown Prince. But on a visit to Amegakure, it was the spirited Princess Konan who grabbed the heart of the withdrawn Crown Prince Nagato.

Naruto was only 16. His grandfather was still the Emperor and his Uncle Nagato has yet to succeed. There was no need to hurry in finding a wife. But if there was a need, there were five candidates to choose from.

Princess Matsuri of Sunagakure was one candidate. She was 15 years of age and was considered as a prodigy of her people.

Princess Yugito of Kumogakure was another potential partner. She was a born leader and extremely beautiful. However, she was 26 years old – 10 years Naruto's senior.

Princess Kurotsuchi of Iwagakure was the third option. She was ambitious and audacious, taking after her stubborn and outspoken grandfather. Yet it was said that she had a relationship with a palace courtier that caused quite a scandal a year back.

Princess Fu of Takigakure was one of the choices. Little was known about her because her nation was one of the most underdeveloped countries. This didn't make her as a suitable candidate because Takigakure was not part of the Five Great Nations. It seemed that the only reason why she was considered and included in the list was because Naruto developed a close friendship with her during a diplomatic visit of Konohagakure to Fu's country. Her father decided to jump onto that opportunity without hesitation to have a chance at uniting with a very strong nation.

Princess Aya of Kirigakure was the foremost candidate among the five. Daughter of the famed Empress Mei Terumi, she was considered as the best choice of being the Crown Princess and Empress. What's more, her mother had a close friendship with Kushina and Minato, bringing the two great nations closer than ever.

And now there was Hinata. But she was never a part of the list. The Hyuugas were a noble clan of their own right. At one point in time, in the first civil war that gripped Konohagakure, they were a serious contender for the throne until the honor was ultimately bestowed upon the Uzumakis. By measurement of wealth alone, the Hyuugas were richer than the countries of Amegakure and Takigakure. Their prosperity and influence were still expanding. They were even more well-known than the royal family of Iwagakure. Such was their reach and it isn't really a problem if a Prince marries within his nation. It was true that it may weaken foreign relations, but it was something that could easily be remedied.

Hinata would have made a fine candidate because she had the qualities of a great Empress. She was soft-spoken, gentle, and tirelessly supportive. She was well-educated and smart in her own right. What's more, she would adore her future husband and stand by him through anything.

However, the emperor desired that Naruto take Princess Aya as his wife. If the old man were to die, then the decision of Naruto's future partner belonged to Nagato. But the Crown Prince loved his nephew and will never force Naruto into anything.

Another problem was that Hyuuga Hinata was already engaged to Uchiha Sasuke. Even though she loved Naruto, the Uchihas were better suited for her because they were of the same standing. The fact that Hiashi also detested Naruto presented more of a dilemma. The ambitious Hyuuga patriarch would have loved the idea of his daughter becoming the Empress of Konohagakure, if only it were in another life and only if the heir wasn't Naruto. The blonde represented the revolutionary Prince who abhorred tradition, conformity, and rules. He was an idealist who fought for the peace and happiness. As the people often say, Naruto was the Prince of the future.

"We're here," Minato spoke, alerting Naruto to the fact that they already reached their house.

Naruto nodded and got out of their ride, walking behind Minato like a zombie without direction. He trudged along the pebbled path, leading to a marble staircase to their front porch. The doors were opened by two attendants who greeted the two men courteously. As the bright light assaulted Naruto's vision, two feminine voices were heard.

"Naruto! Minato!"

"Father!" Naruto!"

When the initial surprise of the hall's light died down, Naruto spotted his mother and his elder sister waiting for them at the hall. Kushina looked like she had run a mile, her usually pristine red hair a bit disheveled. Her face was white and her lips looked like she had been worrying them for a while. Haruko's blue eyes were swimming with shed tears and her face looked blotchy. It was obvious that she had been crying for a while, no doubt concerned about Hinata.

Naruto wasn't at all that astonished that Haruko had been crying. Out of all his friends, Hinata was closest to his sister. This was because the two shared the same demeanor and personality. Haruko felt that she had a duty to look after the Hyuuga heiress as if she were her own sister.

Kushina immediately strode forward and kissed her husband on the lips. Meanwhile, Haruko embraced her brother. The two women switched after a few moments, with Haruko embracing her father and Kushina pecking Naruto's forehead.

"Tsunade-sama called me," Kushina said. "I'm glad that Hinata is okay. But she said there was another girl caught in the fray who is in a more critical condition."

"Yamanaka Ino," Minato replied. "Inoichi's daughter."

"Inoichi!" Kushina gasped. She obviously knew who Ino's father was, the Yamanakas being of noble stock. Only their children didn't know of this family because they weren't given many opportunities to meet other nobles in Konohagakure aside from a chosen few such as the Uchihas and the Hyuugas.

"Why father? What was wrong with her?" Haruko asked.

"It seemed that the bullies upset a former injury," Minato explained. "The girl blacked out and they're looking for further damage."

"Goodness," Kushina reacted. "I pray that she be alright."

"Ino's strong," Naruto interjected. "I'm sure she'll pull through."

Kushina and Haruko sent an odd look at him. They knew that something was up aside from what happened to Hinata. Naruto was often the first one to tell them of his worries and thoughts in general. But it took a few exchanges from his family before he even joined in.

"What's wrong?" Kushina asked, laying a comforting hand on Naruto's head.

"I think we should go to the sitting room for this," Minato suggested.

"Don't you want to have dinner first?" Haruko said, observing her brother.

"I'm not that hungry," Naruto objected.

"Okay," Kushina said. "Let's talk."

When the four Namikazes finally settled in their sitting room, Minato started the talk.

"It seems that everything is okay in terms of the accident," Minato said. "The girls who beat Hinata and Yamanaka-san up are being taken care of by Hatake-san. Tsunade-sama promised that ample actions are being taken to punish the students responsible and to strengthen school security."

"That's great, then," Kushina said. "I feel sorry for the girls' parents. They will surely be expelled."

"As they should," Naruto uttered through gritted teeth. "Their stunt could have cost lives."

"That's true," Minato agreed.

"Then what's the problem?" Haruko asked gently, observing her brother.

Naruto didn't respond, but there was a telling light tint coloring his cheeks.

Comprehension started to dawn between mother and daughter. But they both still looked at Minato for confirmation. The man, in turn, started to gaze around the room uncomfortably.

"It's not so much as a problem," Minato started to say. It was funny to see a born public speaker and leader like Namikaze Minato fumble his way through words. "It's not a problem, right, son?"

"I think it is," Naruto said, his frown deepening and his blush worsening.

"Minato stared at his son in disbelief. "What?"

"Tell us what happened first," Kushina said impatiently.

Minato sighed but obliged. "Hinata has been unconscious ever since the incident. She's been sedated but while we were talking with Hiashi – "

"And by talking, you mean arguing?" Kushina's dry humor worked in.

Minato's chiding gaze landed on his wife. "As I was saying, we were with the Hyuugas when Hinata suddenly talked."

"What did she say?" Haruko asked, noting Naruto's ever reddening face.

Minato took a deep breath. "That she loved Naruto."

To Minato and Naruto's complete bewilderment and surprise, Kushina suddenly gave a whoop of laughter. Haruko clapped her hands together, squealed in excitement and said, "Finally!"

"Finally?!" Naruto exclaimed, rounding on his sister. "What do you mean, 'finally'?!"

Haruko sobered up and looked slightly abashed. Kushina, on the other hand, continued to try and overcome her mirth.

"W-well, I sort of always thought that it was obvious," Haruko reasoned.

"And you didn't tell me?!" Naruto said.

"Not my fault that you're a bit too dense," Haruko teased. "It was too obvious, Naruto. The way she blushed, stammered, and fainted around you."

"And the way she always insisted on coming to our house just to find an excuse to see you," Kushina added.

Naruto had a sudden flashback of all the times that his mother and sister were pertaining too. He nearly slapped his face upside at the subtle-as-a-gun hints that Hinata had been dropping ever so often.

"Ah, young love," Minato said with a grin.

Naruto suddenly screamed, holding his head like a madman. "Waaahhh!" Why didn't anyone tell me?!"

"It's not our secret to tell," Haruko said. "And besides, you had to find out on your own. If we told you, where's the thrill in that?"

"I'm not looking for a thrill, nee-chan," Naruto said in exasperation. "You should have told me or at least given me huge hints! Hinata's my best friend's fiancée, for crying out loud!"

Kushina suddenly bolted upright, nearly knocking down an expensive vase that was on a coffee table. "Is that the problem, Minato? Did the Uchihas hear Hinata? I heard that they arrived with the Hyuugas."

"No," Minato replied. "Fortunately, they left to search for Sasuke before Hinata said anything. They just went to check up if she was okay."

"Then what's the problem, Naruto?" Kushina inquired. "If the Uchihas don't know, there won't be any trouble as of now. Hiashi has always been a pain in the ass, so that's to be expected."

"I really can't believe a Princess of Konohagakure just said the A word," Haruko groaned.

Naruto expelled a breath, ignoring his sister's side comment. "I think Sasuke knows."

* * *

When Hinata woke up, her head felt like it was filled with water. Her vision swam before her and all she could see was a dimly lit ceiling. She tried moving her arms and her legs when she suddenly gasped in pain. A million needles seemed to pierce her body.

"Hinata?" a voice mumbled from beside her.

She turned her head to the left with much effort, making out Neji's form through the darkness. His head seemed like it had been propped at her bedside.

"Nee-chan?"

She turned her head to the right, spotting Hanabi's disheveled form. Hinata couldn't help but smile at her siblings.

"Do you feel fine? Should I call the doctor?" Neji asked, standing up.

"I feel fine," Hinata croaked, the use of her voice leaving her throat raw. "I just feel a little bit sore and groggy."

"Well, after what you've been through and after sleeping for more than 10 hours, that's to be expected," Hanabis said, smiling at her sister. "It's morning already. We just shut the blinds."

"Are we at the hospital?" Hinata asked.

"Home," Hanabi replied. "Tsunade-sama ordered a ride for you, Neji-nii-san, mom, and dad. Father thought that you would be better off here at home since we have our own doctor and a medical ward."

"F-father?" Hinata repeated in worry. "I-is he…?

"He's not angry. Don't worry," Neji assured her.

"A-alright then," Hinata responded. Her eyes suddenly widened as memories of what happened washed over her in complete detail. "What happened to Naruto-kun? I saw him just before I blacked out. And there was Ino-san! She came and helped me. Where is she? How is she?"

Neji put a restraining hand on his twin's shoulder. "Stop worrying, Hinata. It won't do them any good if you put yourself in a worse condition. Naruto's fine. Ino is in Tsunade-sama's care."

Hinata couldn't help but notice that Hanabi was giggling beside her. "What's so funny?"

Hanabi started to open her mouth but Neji sent her a quelling look. This effectively shut her up. "Nothing," she answered vaguely.

Hinata nodded in response, wondering what it was that caused the exchange between Neji and Hanabi. Before she could think more about it, sleep engulfed her once more, sending her into peaceful bliss.

* * *

**That's it for now. Next update will be SOON. :)**


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